Re: The Big O
by Shadowdorothy
Summary: What happens when a unwilling participant gets isekai'd into Paradigm City? And moreover, what if they know how the story, and the world, ends? They do the only thing they can, survive and try to find a way home.
1. Prologue

Authors note:

This isn't your typical Isekai.

They aren't special, they don't have super smarts or powers, and they sure as heck didn't want to end up in the world they did. They had a pretty decent life before being whisked away to another world. Maybe not perfect, but it wasn't bad by any means.

The hero isn't overpowered in any way, they aren't even a hero, truth be told. More like a non player character if there was a word to describe how insignificant they are.

But when they end up waking up in Paradigm City, they know what they must do. Survive! This is a world headed for a certain end, and if something isn't done they are going down with it. And more than anything, they just want to get back home.

So now our little adventure begins.

* * *

She awoke with a start. The noise and commotion of nearby vehicles, police and construction weren't what she had expected. The early morning sounds of an industrial city street level are startling wake up calls. After a second or two of terror and blurry eyes, she began to notice everything around her, but none of it was familiar. Dingy, musty overcoat over dirty jeans and ripped t shirt, socks that felt uncomfortably sweat and filth caked, beat up boots with torn up gloves. Typically curly chestnut hair is matted and knotted with dirt.

_'What the hell?'_ The woman examines her body, and other than appearing to be in homeless attire and myriad levels of dirt she is fine. She still hasn't entirely registered everything, however, and only then notices that she is on a broken mattress in a back alley, two other men of similar homelessness are nearby. Checking her pockets, the young woman cannot find a device she can't live without, her smartphone. But looking around there is no sign she had it with her when she ended up in the alley. Or any other possessions she would be familiar with.

She gets up and starts walking away with no real destination in mind. Barely around the corner she hears the men fighting for the mattress she had left behind. She didn't care, and had no intention of sleeping in an alley again if she could help it. Passing a window, she catches a glimpse of a face unfamiliar, both younger and more haggard than she remembers. Eyes no longer blue, but black, both in the circles surrounding them and the iris.

'_Where am I, what happened to me_?' The face staring back in the shop glass looked to be about eighteen, a decade younger than the woman remembered being. Just then an old gentleman with a yamaka walked out of a bar carrying a newspaper. '_Welp, best chance I got right now._'

"Excuse me sir, if you are done with that paper could I trouble you for it?" She hoped her appearance wouldn't cause him ignore her. '_If I can get a recent paper maybe I can find out what has happened._'

The older gent looked at her from behind his orange tinted glasses, but unlike every other person on the street to pass her by, this man had no disdain apparent in his features. Something about the man was familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on why that was. "Of course, if you need it..." she reached out for it and he pulled the paper away, "if you'll tell me your name."

"My... name? Why would you want that?" Confusion was evident, as was the panic in her voice.

"Call it professional curiosity."

"Ray."

"You have a last name too, young lady?"

"... Law." Hesitant to speak her name, she still gave it. Well, a truncated version at any rate.

He handed her the paper, "Well Ms Law, I suggest you make yourself scarce. This isn't a place for young ladies to be hanging around."

"Yeah, thanks." With that Ray made a quick escape from the rundown neighborhood, newspaper in hand. About three or so blocks away a long black vehicle passed her by, and unlike the others in the area, this one looked well cared for.

'_Guess drug dealers are still a thing..._' it was only then Ray noticed that all the vehicles on the road, be it car or semi truck, looked antiquated. Like something her grandparents might have driven in their youth, nothing like the smart cars and SUV's that Ray was used to seeing. '_Forget where, when am I?_'

A few more blocks away from the bar and the scenery looked a tad less dingy. It was only at that point that Ray looked up. '_What the hell? No, no nonononono. It can't be... I can't be here, can I? It's not possible._'

Towering up and in the not too far off distance was a crystalline dome, with buildings poking out at various points. 'No... but that's... could it really be?' Ray's thoughts were a jumble of nonsense as a feeling of dread washed over her. It couldn't possibly be... She looked at the newspaper in her hand, and sure enough there was the paper name she expected to find. In large, stylized lettering the words "Paradigm Press" could clearly be read. The date read Feb. 10th, 40.

"Oh no. I really am in the world of Big O!" Shock took strength from her legs, knees buckled, she hit the ground and blacked out, knowing nothing else.


	2. Awakening

"Hey… up. Can… hear me? Wake up!"

"Uah!" She didn't jump so much as get shaken awake. When Ray opened her eyes there was a man she couldn't recognize holding on tight to her shoulders.

"Good, yer awake. Now get away from my storefront ya tramp!" The man was apparently the owner of the store Ray had fainted in front of.

"Geez, alright, alright I'll get moving." But she couldn't even get to her feet without wobbling, and fell back down. "Just, give me a second." The man grabbed under her arms and lifted her up with little effort.

"There, yer on yer feet, now get going." He shooed her off, a little less forcefully this time.

Ray walked for a while, not really sure what to do or where to go. In truth, she was beyond dazzled by the entire situation. Yesterday she had gone home after work, microwaved some leftovers, took a quick shower and went to bed. Today she woke up in a different world, and not only some fictional world, one she was rather familiar with. The world she was in now was from an anime and manga she had watched and read growing up, how could that possibly be real?

Did Ray get isekai'd, or in more plain English, did she get transported unwillingly from her world to this one? That was only supposed to happen in fictional media right? And didn't getting transported to another world usually involve death and rebirth, or at least the intervention of a higher power? Ray couldn't recall meeting anyone that fit that description. _'What if I've gone insane and just dreamed up my previous life. Wait a second I can check that.' _Looking down at her hands, a small scar ran along her left thumb, just like she remembered having before. _'Ok, so not a rebirth, unless I scared myself the same way. So that can only mean I got isekai'd right?'_

It was altogether too much for her to handle. She was in a fictional world! And not just any fictional world, one where she knew the ending. And it did end, more or less, and that was a problem. Ray's thoughts were a jumble, but one thing was abundantly clear to her, she should not be here at all. And she had to survive long enough to go home!

While in her confused daze, Ray eventually found a bench. She sat down, still looking for all the world that she'd been slapped by a megadeus. _Oh right, I should read the paper I got off that man earlier… wait, was that Big Ear? If it was then…_

Ray stopped her train of thought and opened the paper. _If I can figure out when I am in the story, I can create a plan of action on how to deal with this whole isekai crap._ Thumbing through the paper, Ray came upon an article about a reclusive robotic scientist being murdered in a nightclub. _Oh… well then. I should be within the first few episodes. So I have longer to create a plan of action._ Ray never thought she would be glad to read about a murder, but in this case, it gave her longer to find a way out of the mess she was in.

While she was thinking about it, Ray came to a stomach sinking realization. _If I start interacting with the main cast of the series, I might get stuck in the world longer, or may not be able to go home at all._ Then another thought hit her. _Or it might make it easier to go home… I don't know._

Ray couldn't help but feel helpless about the whole situation. How and why was she in Paradigm City? She didn't think it was the typical method of death and rebirth. Could it have been a random portal opening up and bringing her to a new world, or some gods interference? Well, Ray wasn't one to believe in the supernatural, but it was hard to deny something or someone had a hand in this. Still, no matter how much she racked her brain, Ray couldn't think of a conceivable answer.

"Hey you, what are you doing?" Ray heard a gruff voice not far away and jumped from the startling noise. The gruff voice belong to none other than Major Dastun, with his black mutton chops being fluffed by the wind, yet his long dusty military coat seemed to stay close to the body.

_'Ah shit. I better run.'_ And with that thought Ray was up and off, hoping she could at least outrun the wary old cop.

* * *

Ray had run for an unknown number of blocks, she was far too tired and hungry to keep going. _Jeez, he ran longer than I thought he would._ With Ray being too exhausted to go any further, Ray found a small alleyway near the end of the block she was on. Hiding behind some trash cans so no one could see her, Ray rested her head on her knees and closed her eyes for a while. _'I'll just nap here a bit, then start looking for answers again.'_

"Young lady, are you alright?"

Ray jumped with a start, yet again, and could not believe her tired, panicked eyes. In front of her was a person she did not want to meet in this strange and terrifying situation that was her life right now. None other than the elderly butler that was this world's equivalent of Alfred Pennyworth, Norman Burg the machine gun toting manservant was in front of her. Towering his full 6'5", pristine uniform and handlebar mustache immaculate, the manservant was staring down at the unfortunate Ray with his one good eye.

"Um, no I'm ok, just tired…" A rumbling sound came from her stomach, betraying her just when she needed to make a getaway.

"How long have you been on the streets, young lady?" His tone went from concerned to fatherly, that tone he tended to take with another young lady.

_Seriously? This is some shit. Ok I just have to find a way out of this. _Her stomach grumbled again, louder this time. _Then again, Norman has been known to help the less fortunate and down on their luck without a lot of questions. _Another long rumble roared from her stomach, and Ray could feel the muscles contract from it. _Screw it, I'm just going for broke. _"I… I have no idea. I woke up this morning with no idea what happened. I only remember my name."

Ray knew that in Paradigm City, people can seemingly at random lose and regain their memories. Not only those who were alive forty years ago, but people younger than thirty often regain memories that aren't theirs, or lose them altogether. So, thinking maybe if she played her cards correctly, she could claim to be an anemisaic for long enough to hopefully convince the kindly, older man to leave her be. Or feed her and let her alone after. She wasn't averse to getting a warm meal right now.

"I see, that is rather unfortunate. Hmm." He peered off into the distance, appearing to be lost in thought. Ray held no such notions, she knew he was scheming. "Well then, I have a little proposition for you."

Ray just looked perplexed at his choice of words. _Oh no, he's not about to suggest what I think he is, is he?_

"Well, for the time being, come inside for a bit, let's get you cleaned up and fed first."

"Are you sure? I could be lying, or dangerous."

"I highly doubt that Miss…"

Ray sighed. _Can no one just ask for names normally here?_ "Ray Law."

"Well, Ms Law, please follow me."

It was all rather surreal for Ray. While she had seen the old bank that comprised the Smith mansion from the anime she had watched growing up, it was like an out of body experience being inside the building itself. Clean, but yet still having a bit of a lonesome feel to it, with some of the pillars being cracked a tad, and the wood of the bank booths faded with age. Still, Ray just couldn't deal with all of this. It was beginning to be too much for her. She must've looked glassy eyed, or perhaps a bit out of sorts, but she wasn't all there. Body in one place, trying to stay grounded, but her mind had long since wandered off while allowing herself to be led wherever Norman was intending to lead her.

"Norman, who is this?" A calm, level and feminine voice spoke from the corner.

"Yip!" Ray jumped yet again, and this time couldn't stop herself from tripping over her own two feet and falling flat on her face. She just laid there for a few seconds, trying to reorient herself and let the stinging feeling fade away. _Of course she would be here, she lives here… Freakin' tiny robot ninja._ Ray was cursing internally, as doing so outward was not something she considered a good idea. No, angering Norman was not something she wanted to do, ever, if it could be helped.

"Are you alright Ms Law?"

"Yeah, I'll be ok, as soon as everyone quits sneaking up on me." Ray finally sat up and rubbed her nose to stop the stinging. She looked over to the corner the voice had come from, and sure enough, the gynoid maid dressed in her typical black maids dress was standing there, broom in hand.

"Um, hi?" Somehow the greeting came out as more of a question then a salutation.

"Wonderful timing Ms Dorothy. Would you be so kind as to set up one of the guest rooms please?'

"For this woman?" While the tone was flat, Ray got the feeling of disdain from where she sat. _Geez, I know I look like a pile of trash, but does she gotta make me feel like it too?_

"Yes. She'll be staying with us for a while."

"Wait what?" Ray's face took on the look of the distrubed emoticon, "I don't think I ever…"

"Now, this way Ms Law," he turned and started walking off down the hall.

Ray just stood up, shrugged at Dorothy's own look of disapproval (or at least as much of a face as the gynoid could make) and followed him down the hall. He set a brisk pace towards the elevator, which was hard to see in all the gray and black of the buildings interior. The elevator rose slowly, and eventually opened up into a hallway with a spiral staircase straight ahead. Ignoring her look of curiosity, he continued on into the kitchen, the only room in the house not entirely black. Copper, silver and wooden utensils, pots and pans lined the walls. A small wooden table was in the middle of the kitchen, with various ingredients on it, in various states of preparation.

"Master Roger is away at the moment, so it's just Ms Dorothy and myself here. But before we talk about room and board, let's get you fed and cleaned up shall we?" He sounded bemused and had a mischievous smile on his face.

"Why are you helping me gramps?"

"Gramps?"

_Shit shit shit,_ "Why are you helping me, sir?" _I need to be more careful, I do not need to be getting my ass kicked, and especially here of all places._ Ray didn't think Norman would get violent with a young woman, but he might throw her out, and she was just hungry enough to go along with whatever was happening.

"Hm, just an old man being sentimental." He set about making a small meal.

Ray's face slowly moved on its own, shaping itself into an expression of wide eyes, slightly slack jawed, and ending in her emulating a certain Yotsuba confused face.

"Oh, okay then…" Within a few minutes a sandwich was made and set at the table. Ray's mouth started watering and she was about to grab it when she heard a stately 'hem hem'. "Oh um, right, should wash my hands first."

Ray took her gloves off and shoved them into her pockets, quickly, but efficiently scrubbed as much dirt from her hands as she could, and finally sat down at the table to eat. Once she was done scarfing it down, Norman removed the plate and set down another plate with some kind of sweet bread on it as well as a glass of milk. Ray practically swallowed it whole and drained the glass in one go.

"Now then, Ms Law." Norman spoke softly, perhaps afraid to startle her again, "Shall we discuss the proposition of sorts?" Norman continued after seeing Ray nod in affirmation. "Wonderful. Well then, as you saw earlier, it is only myself and Ms Dorothy here to take care of the house, all the cooking and cleaning and… maintenance, shall we say."

While his coyness would've fooled just about anyone else in the city unawares, Ray was very clearly aware that he meant the maintenance on The Big hidden in the household. And how for the most part, only he was capable of all the repairs the megadues needed to function after every battle. While Dorothy helped a bit, she didn't really handle the repairs so much as help more run checks. But Ray wasn't supposed to know that.

"Ok, so you want more help?"

"Indeed." His good eye shown a little in the light. Smiling he continued, "Glad to see that you are quick on the uptake."

"Right," Ray was of course, skeptical of whatever Norman was planning, "And your Master won't mind a sudden new worker appearing in his home?" Ray felt odd using the word master, it didn't have a good connotation where and when she was from. But then again, this world took place in a sort of 1950's-ish time, when a butler would use such terms.

"He might protest a little at first, but I'm sure he with time he will come round to the idea." Ray just stayed silent and raised an eyebrow. "Now then, Ms Dorothy should be about finished setting up the spare bedroom, let's get you washed up and rested a bit, shall we?"

"What am I supposed to do about my clothing? All I have is this ratty outfit."

"I'm sure an outfit can be procured for you, and you should be able to not appear as if you…" Norman coughed into his hand, "As if you had been living a less than ladylike life style. Now come along."

* * *

Freshly washed and also to Ray's shock, clothed in proper fitting rest attire that wasn't a maids outfit, she was now faced with the less than thrilled gynoid in the 'spare room' Ray would now be occupying.

It was sparse to be sure. Other than a bed and nightstand with a lamp, there was a small chest at the end of the bed, and a desk. But seeing as they were empty Ray ignored them.

"What was Norman thinking, letting you stay here?" Dorothy was picking up the filthy used clothing by pinching it, and dropping them into a basket.

"Why not go ask him yourself, I have about as much idea as you do." Ray couldn't help but shrug at the affront to her existence. _I completely forgot about the fact that until Dorothy warms up to someone, she's kind of distant and angry about their very existence. Well, if you aren't Roger or Norman at least. And I'm not entirely sure she felt for Roger until much later. _

"I intend too." Dorothy turned to leave.

"Um, wait," Dorothy turned back to face Ray, forcing her movement to be more mechanical than necessary. Ray cringed at the noise. "Doesn't that hurt your joints?"

"Is that what you wanted to ask?" Ray wasn't sure how to interpret Dorothy's mild tonal change from flat monotone to slightly less flat monotone.

"No, but well it seems rather concerning that you would force your body to make that noise when you could avoid doing so." Dorothy remained silent, but the light in the room made her face look neutral instead of angered as it had before. "I… just wanted to ask, I saw an article earlier in the paper about a recently deceased robotics scientist. Was that your..." Ray trailed off, the light in the room made Dorothy's face now look a little upset.

"Yes, that was my father."

"Is that so? I'm sorry."

"What for? You didn't cause his demise."

"Yeah, but that was still your… Parent?" Ray hadn't meant to make it a question, but it slipped out that way.

Dorothy simply turned and left, no more forced mechanical movement.

_Dang it. I really do have isekai protagonist luck. _With that, Ray was left alone, and given plenty of time to think about her current situation.

* * *

Well this ended up longer than I thought. Anyway, this should be a rather long story, longer than my normal story length. I am intending to cover the entirety of the series from a little before the start of episode three, until the end, with extras like this one between. It's a retelling of The Big O, with a regretful isekai'd protagonist that doesn't want anything to do with the world shes been forced into. I'm breaking up chapters into more bite sized segments for the sake of readers, but hopefully when I am done, the story makes sense and flows well.


	3. Daily life?

Later that evening Roger returned home. Ray was still hiding in the room Dorothy had set up for her earlier, not wanting to introduce herself until she absolutely had too. In fact, she was thinking of slipping out the window, until she noticed there wasn't a fire escape connected to this room. _Did Dorothy do that intentionally? Or were fire codes lax back in the 50's? _Ray was beginning to regret letting Norman talk her into whatever he had talked her into.

In the time it had taken the master of the house to return, Norman had brought her a typical every day outfit. Black v-cut t-shirt, black jeans, black socks, black hard boots. Of course everything was black, all clothing in this house had to be black as per the rules. '_But seriously, everything is black, even the unmentionables. Who cares what color undergarments I am wearing if they aren't gonna see em?'_

Norman came to get her around dinner time, "Will you be joining us this evening, Ms Ray?" In the short few hours Ray had been there, she was adjusting to what was more than likely going to be her life in this world. And by adjusting, Ray was planning on ways to escape this madhouse. She'd half a mind to go look for a certain old man, but quickly realized he probably had very tight security and she wouldn't make it through.

"I… maybe it would be best if I waited," Ray knew that sooner than later, she would have to meet the real protagonist of the story, but she didn't want to do it just yet. Mentally, she still wasn't ready. It was crazy enough she was running into characters from an anime, but somehow she had come to live with the main cast! _Really this is isekai protagonist luck if ever it existed. Now how do I get rid of it and get home?_

Ray had been thinking about that since finding out she arrived in Paradigm City. Not knowing how she got here, or why, there wasn't a reasonable method of reversal. Simply put, she didn't have enough answers to any of her questions. Ignoring What, how, when and why, there was still the question of who may have brought her here. And if she was to throw that question aside, there was still the other of what should Ray do now that she was in this world. That was the only answer she did not have trouble reaching, as it was fairly simple to arrive at, regardless of world there was one thing every being must do: survive!

"Oh, are you not hungry again? It has been a few hours since you last ate," Norman raised an eyebrow over his one good eye.

"I... " A loud roar came from the teens abdomen, "Suppose I am," _Stupid body._ Not that she could help it. In contrast to how Ray looked in her own world, she appeared rather emaciated here. Probably from being homeless for she didn't know how long. _Well, at least that wasn't a lie._

Ray followed Norman to the dining room, and sat down at the long dining table close to Dorothy. Of course the gynoid gave her a cold stare, her eyes barely narrowing. Ray tried to avoid looking at her or the black clad negotiator to her right, choosing instead to stare at her own lap and wish she could disappear into the aether rather than be present here and now. _Let's just get this over with already._

"Norman, who is this?" Roger sounded more amused than annoyed or upset, which Ray had thought he would be. "Did we adopt another stray android?" Dorothy clinked her tea cup loudly at Roger's remark.

'_Boy he sure does love to dig his own grave, doesn't he?'_ Ray found herself thinking that in her previous teenage years too. Ray finally found enough of her voice to quietly speak up, "I'm pretty sure I'm human," Just then her stomach roared again.

"Hah, guess so. Do you have a name Ms?" Roger pointed at her with a fork.

"Ray Law. As to why I am here, I guess your manservant took pity on me, seeing as he offered me a job so I wouldn't end up a lady of the night, so to speak," Ray couldn't help but shrug.

"Oh, he did now did he?" Roger looked over at Norman with a look of annoyance and disbelief, sounding somewhat exasperated. "Is Dorothy not enough hassle for you Norman?"

Ray winced when Dorothy loudly put her cup down. _She's gonna end up breaking that, or the table. Or Roger's face. _Ray was silently betting on the last one.

"Um," Ray couldn't help but stutter, "Well after I've worked here for a while I can use Norman as a reference and look for another job. So please just bare with me until then," She hoped by stuttering out that far flung excuse she could hopefully ease tensions, at least by some small degree.

Roger blinked, as if taken aback by the fast spoken plea. His expression softened a tad, and he spoke more calmly, in what could be considered a negotiation voice.

"Well, if it's only for a short while, I suppose I am willing to overlook Norman not asking me first," Norman nodded in approval and quickly disappeared into the kitchen, only to reappear mere minutes later with a cart full of whatever was for dinner.

The next morning Ray awoke with a start, not because of the assault the piano took, but because of Roger's verbal assault towards Dorothy. '_Is that really necessary? She's an angsty teen that likes to annoy you dude, the sooner you stop screaming the better.' _Not that Ray could ever say as much in front of either of them. Roger wouldn't believe her, and Dorothy would find some way to make Ray's life more hellish than it was now. She sighed, got up and dressed before heading to breakfast. No sooner had she sat down when a familiar dialogue started. Yet it was different than what she remembered.

"What do you think you're doing?" Roger sounded annoyed. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed. Of course, that was because just a few minutes prior Dorothy had beaten the poor piano in her attempts to wake him up.

"Drinking a cup of tea," Dorothy's body made those forced gear moving slowly against gear noises.

Ray couldn't help but feel both annoyed and perplexed. _She really needs to stop that, it's gotta be putting unnecessary strain on her body._

"Can an android even drink tea?" Roger gave a questioning look.

"I cannot taste it, but I am able to drink it as a human can," Dorothy drank a bit more, seeming to ignore Ray's existence while continuing to make Roger's annoying.

"Now I get it, you're just imitating us. That's why your playing doesn't have any real emotion to it," Roger had taken a bit of a haughty tone.

"Nobody likes an alarm clock, Roger Smith," Dorothy was snarking more than usual.

"Now see here!" And cue the lights going off while Roger was mid tirade.

'_Thank Hydalyn, I don't think I could've taken that much longer.'_ Ray sighed.

"Oh dear, we have been having more frequent power outages outside the domes recently. I'll go start the generator," With that Norman left.

Roger sat back down to try and fuss over his breakfast, and again on cue Dorothy turned on the head lamp hidden inside her CD tray. _Ouch, that's actually rather bright when it's in your face._

"Huh?"

"Please continue eating," Dorothy really was a wonder. One minute she's pissy at Roger, the next she just brushes it off.

'_Guess she had to find a way to deal with her situation somehow.' _Ray looked down at the cup of coffee she had started drinking absentmindedly while that entire argument went on. '_Strange, I can barely taste anything.' _The food in front of her appeared normal, but nothing had much of a taste, now that she was thinking about it. Even last nights dinner had tasted mute in comparison to the food she ate back home. _'Maybe it's because it's healthier?'_

"Oh my how convenient," Norman said as he emerged from the kitchen right on cue, carrying his gas lamp.

"Norman," Roger was clearly annoyed now.

"Ah that reminds me Master Roger, you have a guest waiting for you," Norman took a more serious tone.

"A guest, Norman you know the rules."

"I know sir," Norman, while still formal, sounded a bit exasperated.

"I see," and with that Roger got up and left. Dorothy's piercing gaze following him out of the room.

"Um, Dorothy, is it possible to turn the brightness down a bit? You're kind of blinding me," Ray tried not to be rude about it, but how can one mention a literal headlamp without some issue being taken. Thankfully Dorothy didn't seem averse to actually turning it down, allowing Ray to finish her meal in peace.

After breakfast Ray did as Norman instructed, helping with housework until a late lunch was had, and then she found all the chores were more or less completed. Ray was left to 'explore' within reason, so she made her way down to Rogers office and library combo.

'_Maybe I'll find something to read.'_ However, when she started looking over most of the books, a number were photo albums she didn't dare disturb, case files were much the same, and a lot of books on law and philosophy. All subjects and contents she didn't think she should be nosing about in.

"What are you doing?" Dorothy's calm and level voice called out from behind a bookcase.

Ray finally found her voice after almost yipping again. "Oh fucking hell, stop sneaking up on me like that! You're gonna give me a heart attack, or worse, I might try and sock you!" Ray didn't mean to go on a profanity laden tirade, but she couldn't help it. After being startled and snuck up on some many times in the last few days, Ray finally snapped.

"I'm not sure why you would put a sock on me. Also, what is a 'fucking hell' exactly?" Dorothy cocked her head to the left, trying to look innocent.

_Ah dammit._ "Um, can you forget you ever heard those words, please? I don't need Norman trying to end me because I taught you foul language," Ray was practically shaking in fear of the possibilities her mind was coming up with in terms of punishments. She began to look stressed and was she imagining the sweat on her forehead?

"Why would Norman end you for teaching me foul language? What makes you think I don't already know it?" Dorothy almost sounded indigent.

"You're messing with me, right?" Ray sounded vexed, even to herself.

"No," That was as much a straight answer as Ray was ever going to get from the gynoid.

"Oookay then," Ray was not even sure what to do now. Dorothy finally found a way to make her life hell, as a result of Ray's own actions, and more than like she was going to enjoy teasing the wayward isekai'd fool. "Well, if you know what those words mean individually, then finding out what they mean put together shouldn't be impossible for you. As to what I meant by 'sock you', it means to punch someone, kind of like a sucker punch."

"Punching me would likely result in a few broken hand bones," Dorothy was back to her typical flat monotone, and the low lighting made it seem like she was less than amused.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. It's a fight or flight response humans have to fear and adrenaline increases. Sometimes we fight, sometimes we run away."

"And where does screaming at someone lie on that scale?" Was Ray losing it or had Dorothy just looked at her annoyed for a brief second.

"Fight, less physical, but still a fight response. Uh, Dorothy wait a second!" Dorothy turned and walked off after Ray finished explaining. Ray quickened her pace to keep up, "Can you at least promise me you won't go using those words if either Roger or Norman are in earshot?"

"No," And with that Dorothy left the room, and Ray to her feelings of dread. _I am so screwed._

At dinner it was rather solemn. With Roger missing there wasn't really all that much to talk about until Dorothy brought up the subject of what he might be doing right now.

"Probably get smacked upside the head with a shotgun stock," Ray muttered without thinking. _He went off to Electric City, so more than likely that is happening now._

"My word Ms. Ray, that is quite a graphic imagination you have there," Norman sounded a little shocked at Ray's nonchalant way of saying that.

_Oops, not again._ "Ahaha, kidding, I'm only kidding. He's probably just fine," Ray's nervous laughter probably wasn't fooling them. Wincing a bit Ray continued, "Seesh, forgot not everyone appreciates some light gallows humor."

After dinner Ray retreated back to her room feigning exhaustion, not wanting to start any more odds arguments and feeling it better to make a hasty getaway. _I really gotta be more careful, ain't no way in hell they'll believe me if I keep acting weird. Just gotta make it long enough to find my way home. There's no place like home. Wonder if clicking my heels together will work? Nah, I'll just look stupid._

Ray spent the next few hours thinking about what she could do to fix her situation, and still couldn't find an answer to why she was in another world. For now, she decided to rest and go look for a library tomorrow. '_Maybe I can find some information in a library, or at least something that can help me.'_

Later that night Ray awoke to the sound of soft footsteps in her room. Ray hadn't been asleep long, so she continued feigning sleep. Not being able to calm her mind, and fear made her unable to sleep.

The steps got closer to her bed, and Ray thought it sounded more like a small person than a large one. _Why would Dorothy be in my room this late? Is she up to something?_ Ray heard the chest at the end of her bed open, and something that made a rough cloth noise being put inside before the lid shut. _Oh, probably putting away the hobo outfit I had yesterday. _

"I know you are not asleep, woman, why do you pretend?" Was it Ray's imagination or was Dorothy hissing?

_Oh right, also forgot she is extremely territorial with new women she doesn't like. _"Well if you know that, why did you bother not to make a lot of noise?" Ray rolled over and sat up to stare at the dark silhouette that she knew to be the real lady of the house.

"Norman _is _sleeping. I do not wish to wake him up," Dorothy definitely hissed then.

"Hmp. Well, is there something you want?" Ray had a pretty good idea of what Dorothy wanted, but she wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of being correct, or bullying her.

"For you to leave."

"That makes two of us hun. Anything else I can get ya on my way out?" Ray slipped into a sarcastic southern drawl. _Bet she's never heard that before. _

_"Hun?"_ Dorothy was taken aback. Even if Dorothy tried to control it Ray could tell she'd found a chip in the gynoids mental armor. "I am not ethically Chinese though. "

Ray had to stop herself from howling with mirth. _Well I'll be, they do know that stuff here. guess now I'm the fool? _"That is not what I meant Dorothy!" Ray was gasping for air between fits of giggles. "Hun is short for honey. A diminutive, gender neutral, way to refer to someone."

"Oh, so you were insulting me either way?"

"Yes," Ray had calmed down by that point.

"How does anyone put up with you?" Ray just shrugged at the question. She had never been sure herself. Dorothy left at that point, and Ray quickly fell back to her fitful dreams of not being able to find a way back home.

The next day, Ray and Dorothy avoided each other unless they had to interact, like at breakfast. Norman was the only one making any form of conversation, but quickly found the two young women had no interest in talking. After the daily chores were finished, Dorothy to stand in her usual spot on the parapet, and Ray asked Norman about finding a library. Following the instructions he had given her, Ray easily found the old rundown library not far from the mansion. While she wasn't able to check out books (you needed proof of being a citizen in Paradigm City to get a card), she was able to find numerous books on theories about being from another world. Sadly, all these books read much like the ravings of madmen, many read as if the writer had mangled the English language, and only a handful of them actually presented their theories in a scientific manner. But even then, Ray couldn't find any clues as to why she was in Paradigm City. After hours of searching and researching, and being no closer to an answer, Ray returned to the mansion.

The next night Roger came home late, and regaled them about his misadventures in Electric City. While talking about what had happened he mentioned being hit in the back of the head with a shotgun stock, at which point Dorothy's piano playing stopped, the room got deadly quiet, and all eyes were on Ray.

"Was it something I said?" Roger was oblivious to the conversation that had occurred the night before.

"Ahaha…" Ray began to laugh nervously again. _Uh oh. How can I possibly explain this?_

"Fucking hell, Ray was right," The deadpan monotonous tone Dorothy used to deliver those words did not match the gravity of their usage. Norman's one good eye went wide, Roger actually laughed about it, and Ray could only scream in response.

"You darn rust bucket!"

We have come to terms

* * *

This is getting to be a might long, isn't it? Well, so far this is has been written and rewritten again, all in the hopes that it reads like a proper isekai novel with a reluctant protagonist. This is a bit of a fun project, as well as experimenting with writing an actual isekai novel.

Hydalyn is the god of the world from Final Fantasy XIV. I'm attempting to establish this character is rather nerdy, without going overboard on the nerdiness.

As always, feedback is appreciated. If there's a situation you think I should write into the story (If I got stuck in Paradigm I would...) hit me up, I could always use some more fun ideas.


	4. Cooking with fire

It had been a little over a week since Ray had become part of the Smith household. For the most part, she did her daily chores, took meals with the other residents, and was almost entirely ignored by Roger. Ray was fine with that, however, as it prevented her from having to answer any strange questions.

Apparently Roger did have some friends that weren't Dastun, Instro and present household, but if you had asked Ray what any of them had looked like, she couldn't have told you. It was like staring at generic NPC's in a video game, with none of them being memorable. A few military police and some informants were about the lot of them.

The time had gone rather smoothly, all things considered. Save for the chewing out Norman had given both teenage girls for their use of language. The summary of the lecture was as follows: Ray was to refrain from teaching Dorothy anymore foul language, and Dorothy was to not repeat any such language she knew to begin with. Throughout the entirety of the scolding Ray looked ashamed and Dorothy looked as guilty as she could manage. At the end of it they were told to try and get along, as if the two were school children incapable of finding common ground on their own.

Despite that, both girls tended to avoid each other. Ray wasn't doing so to be rude, but she just didn't know how to approach Dorothy about, well, anything. And Dorothy preferred her gargoyle perch on the stone railing to being inside, or she sat at her piano playing away when the weather was inclimate. Ray actually liked listening to her playing, because when Dorothy wasn't abusing the piano, it was rather relaxing.

Today was such a day. Both had finished their chores, Dorothy was tapping away at the keys, Ray lounging on the couch reading a comic book she had bought with some pocket change. Of course Dorothy would choose then to switch from a slow melody to piano abuse. Ray sighed, exasperated. Roger was already awake and had left for a negotiation, so Dorothy wasn't playing to wake him up.

"Is something bothering you?" Ray ventured to ask.

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Oh no reason, just that you're beating that poor piano's strings to death, and your preferred torture victim isn't present."

Dorothy stopped mid beating of the keys to narrow her vision into a death glare. Ray didn't care, the music had died for the time being.

"Perhaps I should add another _victim _to the list?" Dorothy practically spat the retort at her.

"But of course! Anything less would be an insult." Ray gestured both lazily and melodramatically with her left arm while using the right to cover her face. She found it rather easy to penetrate the 'armor' that Dorothy tended to wear. If one was to turn insults back at the gynoid, instead of acting upset, then Dorothy had very few reactions other than annoyance. Ray wasn't really doing it to annoy Dorothy, she had just grown tired of the constant stream of verbal and musical assaults. A timely 'hem hem' brought both girls from their little argument to the real world. _Oh boy, here we go again._

"Would the two of you mind helping me with dinner preparations?" Norman stood at the top of the penthouse staircase, adorned in his cooking apron.

"Will one of us not suffice Norman?" Dorothy was back in prim and proper mode.

_Poor thing, she doesn't realize there's no getting out of Norman's schemes. Then again, they usually don't involve her. _Ray got up from the couch and dusted imaginary dirt off her pants, "So what's going to be for dinner?"

"That remains to be seen." Norman had the impish grin he tended to wear when some kind of snafu was about to go down. Both girls followed him to the kitchen. At just about any other time, this room was part of Norman's domain. His personal escape from the rest of the house. _At any other time! _But not today!

"Now then, you two shall be preparing dinner. Whatever you decide to cook is up to you. There should be enough in the pantry and refrigerator to make simple dishes…"

"Norman if you want food poisoning do it on your own time," Ray interjected, "I have no wish to perish from Dorothy's lack of culinary experience." Dorothy gave her another death glare.

"Well then, you will be responsible for making sure that doesn't happen."

"..." Neither had a response until Ray spoke up. Ray turned her head to face Dorothy, "Do you think it's a good idea for us to be in the same room with sharp implements?"

"No." Dorothy spoke in her usual monotone, but she must have expected what Ray was going to say next.

"Ok then, Dorothy would you mind playing some calming music while I cook?" No sooner had the words exited her mouth than Dorothy started walking towards the kitchen door.

"Enough, both of you!" Norman was not assumed by their antics.

Ray pouted, then gave a sullen sigh. _Really? The one time we actually are getting along, and you break it up?_

"You will cook a meal together, and no one had better get food poisoning, or harmed." Norman warned. "Now, I have other work to attend to, so please try not to kill each other." With that he left.

"What do you intend to cook, Ray?" Dorothy slowly wandered back over.

"Something you can't mess up, hopefully. I need to take stock of what we have, Norman probably has a bit of everything." Ray shuffled through the pantry, looking for something that caught her eye. "Hey Dorothy, is there any chicken in the fridge?"

"Yes." Ray could hear the refrigerator door opening.

"There cheese in there? If so what kind?" Ideas were forming, so Ray grabbed everything she thought she would need.

"Yes, Brie, cheddar, something called spicy blend and a large block, but it doesn't have a label."

"Good enough. All right then, listen, here's what we're going to make…" Ray lowered her voice and started instructing Dorothy on preparations that had to be done.

About three hours later Roger returned in time for dinner, smelling of smoke.

"How was your day Master Roger? You appear to be a bit singed." Norman appeared at the elevator as it opened to a negotiator that was indeed a bit frayed.

"Stressful. I'm looking forward to dinner." With that the negotiator sauntered up to his room to get cleaned up.

_Ah right, that was the next story case. _Ray thought as he passed her by in the hallway. "Dinner will be ready soon Norman. Dorothy is keeping an eye on it."

"Wonderful, I'll get the table ready…"

"No just come to the kitchen, force Roger there too, you'll understand when you see."

"Norman, what is this?" Roger, no longer smelling or smoke, and in his pajamas, was seated at the 'head' of the kitchen table.

"Just eat it, ya fussy baby. Dorothy and I spent much too much time making this so Norman would quit trying to force us to be friends." Ray wasn't in the mood for one of Rogers fits. Having to teach Dorothy to cook, on top of making a difficult dish left her tired. She reached for the crispy tortilla strips on the table, and some shredded cheese.

"Fussy baby?" He seemed taken aback by the verbal assault on his age and mentally. "And just where do you get off calling me that?" He raised his voice an octave.

"Please at least try it, Roger." Was it Ray's imagination or did Dorothy sound like she was trying to be soothing? "Ray had to do most of the cooking, but she taught me a few skills. So I would like to know that my mediocre cooking abilities wouldn't kill someone."

"You taught Dorothy to cook?" Roger looked incredulous.

"Blame Norman. I had to find something that she could help out with, and not screw up."

The dish the two had managed to make was chicken tortilla soup. Not impossible for an intermediate chef that Ray was, but difficult for a first time cook like Dorothy. Ray had to show Dorothy everything along the way, while also only allowing the gynoid the chance to work on steps where there was little chance of destroying the whole meal. These steps were such as turning on the oven, putting the chicken in to bake it, frying the tortillas on the stove while Ray worked on the soup stock, and dicing and shredding the chicken. While Dorothy learned simple cooking skills, Ray learned that Dorothy was terribly, frighteningly, deft when it came to using a knife. _Well, not like she'd actually stab me with one._

While this whole exchange was occurring, Norman was able to enjoy dinner with the rest of the household for once. Ray had insisted that because she had been made to cook, Norman should get the chance to unwind a short while. Roger only put up minimal protest when he saw the 'let me have this or suffer the consequences' visage Norman had during the verbal throw down between the two.

"Norman's eating it without complaint, so you can too." Ray mumbled between mouthfuls.

"Alright fine, what exactly do I do with what's on the table?"

"Break up some of the strips and put them in the soup, add cheese on top and mix it." Dorothy gave basic instructions while Ray continued giving Roger a dirty gaze.

"My hands are going to get greasy," Roger grumbled while doing as he had been instructed.

"You have a napkin, Master Roger, now would be the time to use it." Norman gave him a not so subtle threat. _Hot damn, he really can lose his temper. Glad it isn't aimed at me this time._

Finally Roger shoved a spoonful in his gullet and looked almost like a victim of a child's culinary adventures, then his expression changed. "Oh, this is quite flavorful. You made this, and Norman didn't have to help?"

"Told ya." Ray was grinning, and the light in the room made it seem as if Dorothy was too.

* * *

The next day Roger disappeared, much as Ray expected would happen. Dorothy went off to the underground, and not waiting for permission, Ray followed.

"Why did you follow me?" Dorothy didn't even bother looking back at Ray, who wasn't far behind in the disused subway tunnels.

"If Roger is badly hurt one of us needs to stay while the other gets Norman." Really, Ray knew Roger would be fine. What she truly wanted was to get ahold of the insane mummy known as Schwarzwald. '_He may be bat shit, but he also knows this world is a lie. Maybe he knows how to get out.'_

It wasn't long until Dorothy found the maintenance shaft Roger had clambered down earlier.

"Would you like to go first?" Dorothy gestured to the shaft.

"No. You should."

"And why is that?" Dorothy's eyes appeared to narrow.

"Cause if I look up I'll be able to see under your skirt." It wasn't Ray's imagination when Dorothy stiffened her posture. Ray was thankful she didn't get called a louse and settled for the stare instead. Dorothy grabbed the ladder and began to descend.

The next bit went as Ray predicted. They found an unconscious negotiator, let him come too, and went down the hallway to the dome under a dome. Schwarzwald made his appearance, but he didn't seem to care that Ray was there. Continuing from there, Schwarzwald began monologuing about fate and reality, and right on cue, Dorothy started doing whatever that fast mumble of startup burst code was.

_Showtime!_ "Dorothy stop! Don't wake it up!" No response. "Oi, rust bucket, quit it!" _Bingo!_ The spewing of gibberish stopped before the ear shattering scream.

"Is now the time for insults?"

"Well you stopped… didn't... you... Oh crap run!" Ray's panic expression should've told the other two what had transpired.

"Huh?" Roger and Dorothy spoke in confused unison.

"Run dang it! It's alive!" With that Ray turned tail and ran.

The rumble of rubble and shattering rock rang out as the archetype woke up, quickly followed by Dorothy showing fear. The negotiator and gynoid trailed not far behind the isekai'd teen on the run from the now awakened robotic zombie. The screams of Schwarzwald setting himself on fire, again, could barely be perceptible from the sounds of the archetype. Eventually the sound of part of the ceiling carving in could be heard over the din of the archetypes thrashing about, and the towering metal protector of Paradigm City was before them.

Ray had seen it so many times before, from watching the show and other media, but seeing The Big O for the first time in person was a surreal experience. Big O plopped his giant metallic hand against the ground and the three climbed aboard, headed for the cockpit. Somehow, she had expected The Big O to be intimidating, but felt quite the opposite here in his hand. Almost as if Ray was safe in his grasp. Once inside the iron giants neck, Roger hopped into the actual cockpit, while the two girls settled outside the crystallized half dome.

'_Give me the android.'_ A ghostly, shrill and angered voice spoke, but the speaker couldn't be seen.

"Who said that?" Ray looked around, but no speaker was apparent, unless…

'_GIVE ME THE ANDROID!'_ The ghostly voice was shouting now. It couldn't be the archetype's, could it? '_GIVE IT TO ME! I NEED IT TO SURVIVE!'_ No, it really was the archetype speaking, but how could Ray hear it?

"No. No…" Dorothy moaned. She was crouching towards the back of the neck area, shaking. Ray went over to her, and grabbed Dorothy's shoulder.

"You're gonna be ok Dorothy, it's not gonna get you." Ray tried to reassure Dorothy, but wasn't sure if it had any effect. Outside the two giants were duking it out, with the archetype being agile and deftly dodging Big O's swings, but not his other attacks. Ray was finding it was actually difficult to keep her footing while the two fought, so she was more than glad to hold onto the terrified gynoid.

'_Why do you fight me? Aren't you whole? You have your partner, I have no one. Give me the android so I can be whole. So I can make it part of me.'_

"No, no. It's all lies." Dorothy's voice sounded like it was wavering, but it could've been the ringing of steel on steel while the two giants fought that caused it.

Little wonder Dorothy had been terrified, if that's what the archetype had been saying. Making her a part of its body so it could be whole, it sounded like something straight out of a horror movie… A horror movie Dorothy had already experienced before when she was strapped to her 'Big' sister and used as a power regulation circuit! Of course she would be scared of having to go through that again. Ray had to be imagining it, but Big O seemed to be slowing down?

"It's no friend of yours Big O, you hear me? So don't hold back!" Roger shouted while working the controls, "You don't need to be afraid of it Dorothy. It's just a skeleton from the past!" He worked more buttons and switches furiously.

"Now, take this!" With that Roger ended the fight for Dorothy's body. A volley of missiles launched from Big O's chest cavity and the archetype exploded into scrap. Dorothy soon stopped shaking, and removed Ray's hand from her shoulder, but it wasn't forceful. Once the scrap metal quit raining down from above, Roger worked the controls on Big O to make him use the anchors in the Big's hips, and wrenched the Big back up into the Prairie Dog, waiting above on some subway tracks.

It wasn't until Big O was in repose in the Prairie Dog that Ray remembered she had wanted to get ahold of Schwarzwald. "_Ah dang it. Oh well, he'll be back and I'll try to get something out of him next time.'_

The ride home didn't take that long, and once they were back, Norman began repairs, and for the first time since she had arrived, Roger decided to have a private conversation with Ray.

"Well, now that you know about this households Big secret I'll need you to…" Ray cut Roger off.

"I've known about him for awhile you know." Ray was oddly calm, given the circumstances.

"How could you have known about him? Did Norman tell you?"

"Oh no, I figured it out. You disappear for a bit, Megaduce shows up where you go. Really it wasn't that difficult to put together. Not to mention, when Norman does the repairs and maintenance it makes a lot of noise." The noise part was true, it was rather deafening, even when you weren't in the docking and repair bay. Technically, knowing about Big O for a long time wasn't a lie either, but had Ray told Roger she had known about the Megaduce before meeting him, the news probably wouldn't have gone over well.

"I see. Well then, can I trust you to keep the secret." Roger switched into negotiation mode.

"Yeah, why not. I go telling anyone and likely I end up in a dark cell somewhere anyways."

"Why would I throw you in a dark cell?" Roger seemed aghast at the idea of physically harming Ray.

"Didn't say you would, but someone who doesn't like you might try and keep me quiet." Ray yawned, sleepy after a long day. "I'm gonna go get a snack and then head to bed. Night."

"Night." Roger watched as Ray wandered off towards the elevator. Once Ray was in the elevator and out of earshot Roger mumbled, "I think I need to pay a visit to the Speakeasy later. Something about this new assistant of Norman's doesn't add up."

* * *

Ray awoke in the middle of the night, sweat soaked and panting like she had run a marathon. A nightmare unlike any she had experienced since childhood was the cause. The nightmare had been about what had transpired underground, the ghostly, ghastly and maddening voice of the archetype had hounded her, chased her around the corridors below, before gleaming LED lit jaws chomped down on her.

Ray knew she couldn't go back to sleep after that, so she went off towards the penthouse, and outside onto the balcony. The city was bright, even late into the night when most of its residents slept, lit by the colored night lights of the domes, street lamps and neon signage.

"It's rather late, should you still be up?" Dorothy looked almost like a ghost this late at night, what with how pale her skin was. It didn't help that a thick fog was forming.

"Couldn't sleep. Do you not need to rest?"

"No, for androids sleep is not necessary. Though we do have resting states for when we are maintained and upgraded." Dorothy seemed to float past her to the parapet.

"Is that so?" Ray followed her to the edge of the concrete railing separating the balcony from the drop to the street below. There was a long, but not uncomfortable, silence between the two that spanned a good while. Eventually Dorothy broke their revere.

"You heard that monster speak, didn't you?" Dorothy looked over at Ray, the light of the city at night making her appear worried.

"Yeah." Ray's voice shook. She couldn't help it, the nightmare and the voice of the archetype came back to her.

"A human shouldn't be able to hear them." Dorothy looked back out over the city.

"I know that," Ray's voice was barely a whisper, and she shivered when the wind gusted by, "I know I shouldn't be able to hear them. And I know that being here, not knowing how or why I ended up in this city… I know it doesn't make any sense. So why am I in Paradigm City?"

The lights made Dorothy's face look like it was frowning.

No Side

* * *

Probably going to take a bit longer for future chapters to be out. I've got a few ideas bumping around in my head that I will have to write down, but for now I feel this is a good start.


	5. Mixing of cannons?

AN: from this point on the story takes an interesting twist. I will attempt to weave the stories from the various media into one, albeit somewhat incoherent, story. Taking from the anime, manga, light novel (which is really a side story), and the radio drama, will not be easy, but seeing as only the manga does not follow the anime canon, it should be doable with a bit of work.

Let the threads of fate be woven together by these words. Enjoy the ride.

* * *

The fog over the city was thick as a winter blanket. Gray, impenetrable, and depressing. Such were Ray's thoughts on this day, as she stood at the large windows looking out towards the rooftop patio, so covered in fog she couldn't actually see the concrete railing. It was much the same as any other of her days in the Smith household. Wake up, do chores, eat, more chores, eat again, finish chores and then do whatever she wanted until dinner. Though something seemed amiss today.

"Where are you going Roger?" Dorothy had decided to stay inside and play the piano, a more soothing melody than this mornings typical alarm.

"Paradigm City Headquarters. It seems they want me to deal with the fisherman at the pier being afraid to fish, because of some rumors that a ghost ship sank two vessels this last month." Roger was wearing his more wintry attire. The fog brought with it an unsettling chill even the negotiator couldn't escape.

'_Ghost ship? Wait… Didn't that only occur in the manga? Yeah, it totally did, so why is Roger being made to deal with it if I'm in the anime's world?'_ Ray was unsettled by the thought of the world taking unexpected twists. It could potentially make it more difficult for her to find a way home. '_Then again, it might give me more time. I'll just have to wait and see.'_

"Norman, could you have Big O prepared for a water excursion?"

"Absolutely sir. I'll start preparations as soon as you leave." Norman half bowed as Roger descended towards the elevator.

"Thanks Norman. I'm not sure when I'll be back tonight, but expect it to be late." With that Roger was gone.

"Norman, if Roger dislikes the Paradigm Corporation why does he take jobs from them?" Dorothy continued to tap away at the keys while looking towards the older gent.

"Cause money talks." Ray interjected without thinking.

"How can an inanimate object speak?"

"It's an old saying meaning that money has the ability to make others do as we want. And I'll agree with Ms Ray on this point, maintaining the Big O is not cheap. And while he dislikes everything the Paradigm Corporation stands for, the money they provide is quite necessary." Norman pulled a notebook from his pocket and started writing something down. "And with additional mouths to feed, and more repairs to be done, having steady income is quite useful. Now then, Dorothy would you come help with making Big O water proof? Ms Ray, please see to the other chores Ms Dorothy has not completed today."

"Ok." With that, Norman and Dorothy left to go waterproof Big O.

* * *

It was well past when the household typically took lunch, and Ray's stomach was rumbling. Most of the remaining chores had been completed, save for doing the dishes.

'_Well, if I haven't done them yet I may as well make something to eat first.'_ Her stomach growled loudly, '_Scratch that, better make everyone something. _Ray set about making a light lunch for Norman and herself, and some tea for Dorothy. '_She'll probably berate me, or act up, but whatever. If I'm already making something for the two of us I may as well include her.'_

Despite Norman's attempts, and Ray's own, Dorothy refused to warm up towards the wayward woman. If anything, she had simply become stone cold towards Ray. It didn't really upset Ray, but it was odd. Dorothy wasn't hostile, wasn't friendly, and after that night on the patio barely spoke to her at all, unless Ray spoke first.

'_I wonder if she's scared of me? I could hear the archetype, and humans shouldn't be able to hear them at all. Nah. Probably just thought I was making it up.'_

Ray took the plates of food and a pot of tea on a cart to the repair bay. She had to yell over the din of whatever constituted as water proofing to be heard.

"Yes Ms Ray, is there a problem?" Norman poked his head out of the neck door.

"I said I made you some lunch if you want it. And some tea as well." Ray shouted back so she could be heard.

"Is that so," Norman smiled, delighted the young woman had thought to make them food. "I'll be down in a minute. Ms Dorothy, will you be joining us?"

"If I must." Dorothy followed Norman back out onto the catwalk, and over to a small office that was in the repair bay.

"No ones forcing you Dorothy. If you wanna keep working on Big O you can." Ray was setting out the food on a small work table in the office.

"If you've already gone through the trouble of making tea then I shall having some." Ray set a small cup and saucer in front of Dorothy.

The three had lunch in silence, as the iron giant slept not far away, ever present and watchful even in repose.

* * *

Roger was making the rounds to his informants to get some information on the Ghost Ship sightings, as well as finding information about Normans new assistant. From what Norman and Dorothy had told him, things about Ray weren't adding up. How could she possibly have known he piloted Big O before finding out in the underground? Or that the noise of repairs was actually just that. Moreover, she mentioned his enemies, something he knew he probably had, but even Roger didn't know whom they were. Yet Ray was worried if she had said anything outside of the household about the Megaduce, she would be imprisoned.

Who hated Roger that high up the political chain that they could hide someone "in a dark cell"? Roger has some ideas, and he intended to find out, as well as what other secrets Ray was hiding.

His first stop was the Speakeasy. Big Ear usually knew a bit about everything for a price, and the new assistant shouldn't have proved different. _Shouldn't have!_

"That new assistant in your household is a real mystery." Big Ear nonchalantly shook his newspaper out and flipped a page. He continued without looking away from the paper, "I met her myself a few weeks ago, right before your butler hired her, other than being a bit frayed and dirty from homelessness, nothing about her seemed out of place."

"Yet you said she's a mystery?" Roger sipped at his beer that Dale had opened for him.

"A mystery indeed. There's no record in this city of anyone by that name born in the last forty years. And records that exist further back don't have that name either."

"So it's not her real name, or it's a name she remembered?" Roger stared up at the ceiling fan, lazily spinning away.

"If I had to guess, it is her name, but she might be an illegal resident." Big Ear put his paper down to sip at his whiskey on the rocks. "I didn't get the feeling she was lying."

"Illegal resident huh? That might be it."

"Why the interest in the young lady anyway? She isn't exactly your type now is she?" Big Ear seemed amused.

"Call it professional curiosity." With that Roger got up, and left a stack of bills next to the paper.

After not finding much with Big Ear, Roger went to pay Major Dan Dastun a visit. Though he had little information about her either.

"Ray Law? That's Norman's new assistant right?" Dastun was filling out paperwork and didn't even look up at Roger. He could still hear him rifling through the drawers of crime reports, however. "Stop snooping and just tell me what's up would you. I'm busy these days, unlike a certain negotiator."

"Ouch," Roger jested playfully. Then the serious tone came on. "Something about her just isn't adding up, and I have a right to know, considering I am paying her and all."

True enough, Roger was paying Ray's wages. Not that it cost him that much, she was barely paid above minimum wage, and her living expenses were deducted from what she earned. The paltry sum she had left over at the end of the month was enough for her to save a little money and spend on a few luxuries, like books and spare clothes.

"You're getting too paranoid, you know that Roger." Dastun scribbled away on the report. "She seemed just fine when I was over just last week. Polite too. Isn't she also the same age as Dorothy?"

"From what she's told us." Roger shrugged.

"Good, maybe Dorothy can make a friend. Poor girl always seems lonely when I come to visit."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean Dastun? Dorothy's just an android, and Ray is acting strange. I'm telling you something just isn't right." _Dorothy needs a friend? Has Dastun lost his mind?_

"Have you tried asking her?" Dastun finally looked away from the report to his old lieutenant, a bored and annoyed expression crossed his face as he sighed.

"I'm not sure I would get a straight answer if I did." Roger shrugged.

"Well, I'll look into the illegal resident files we have here, but if Ray's information doesn't show up, then I can't help you."

"Thanks Dan. Now, I need to get back to work on that Ghost Ship."

"Ghost ship my ass. Probably just some piece of junk floating in the ocean." Dastun seemed disgruntled, but kept on with the paperwork as Roger left.

* * *

Roger returned home very late that night. Norman had already retired for the night, and Ray was about to do the same when Roger asked to speak with her in private again. The dark lights of the household made it appear as if Dorothy was frowning.

"Now then, there's something I have been meaning to ask you Ray." Roger tried to make himself relax, but for some reason he was rather tense. '_Why should I be tense? I'm just asking for some information, no different than a negotiation.'_

"What is it?"

"It's just, how can I put this," Roger took a deep breath, steeling himself before he began, "Since you have come to live here, some things you have said… Well, it doesn't quite add up."

'_Shit.' _Really what else could Ray have thought. '_If he learns the truth that I'm from another world, he will think I am as crazy as Schwarzwald. Heck, if I didn't know it was the truth, I would think I had lost it too.'_

"Ok, so what exactly is it you want?" Ray was practically hissing in distress and fear, much like a cornered mouse might fight back against the cat that put it there in the first place.

'_Is she scared? Why? I haven't done anything yet?'_ "I'm just wondering… You wouldn't happen to be an illegal resident would you?" Ray visibly relaxed when Roger asked his question.

"Oh, is that all? Yes, I was born outside the city in a small town, so there aren't any records of me here." It wasn't a lie at all, Ray was indeed born in a small town, '_outside_' the city.

"I see. Well, if that is the case, you might want to register with the city. It will make it much easier for you in the long run if you're able to access public services provided to legal residents."

"Yeah, you're right. I hadn't even thought about it really. After being homeless I was just glad to have a roof over my head. If that's all, I want to get some rest. I did most of the cleaning today while Big O was being worked on."

"Alright, get some rest then, I can ask the rest later." Roger was rather dismissive of the whole conversation. '_OK, so she's an illegal resident, that's one question down. Now how do I find out how she knows who my enemies are, and why she knows that?'_

* * *

"Dorothy, let's talk for a bit." Roger called Dorothy into his office not long after Ray had left for bed.

"Is something bothering you Roger?" Dorothy was unusually less monotonous in voice and movements.

"Yeah, and I want your help with fixing it."

"What can I help with?" Dorothy tilted her head to the right. While for the most part Dorothy kept up the I'm a Robot routine, sometimes she slipped into more human mannerisms. Roger suspected it was to annoy him.

"I want you to keep an eye on Ray, and follow her around for a few days if you can, quietly, and without being seen."

"May I ask why it is necessary to follow her around?" '_Really? Is there no escape from that dreaded woman's existence?'_ Dorothy wouldn't say it out loud, as Norman didn't like that the two of them didn't at least try and get along. But Dorothy had found Ray's very being in the house to be an anomaly she couldn't ignore, despite her best attempts. Human emotions weren't something Dorothy had a complete understand of, but if she put how she thought of Ray into such terms, a nuisance and an enigma.

"Just keep an eye on her for me, and report if she does anything against the law or suspicious."

"Alright, if I must."

After that Roger went to bed, and Dorothy used the houses security cameras to keep an eye on Ray's sleeping form.

The next morning, Ray was up early, did her chores quickly, and asked Norman to help provide her with proof of living in the Smith manor.

"I'm not usually one to pry Ms Ray, but what exactly do you need these documents for?" Norman handed her a small envelope containing records proved that Ray had worked there for the past two-ish months, as well as an expenses sheet showing she lived in the household and the contract she had signed.

"I'm applying for legal resident status, so I'll need proof this is where I live and work." Ray took the envelope and put it in her jacket pocket. It was one of Roger's older jackets that was kept around for whatever reason, and while a it large on Ray, it was warm. The fog was still making it rather chilly outside, and other than the hobo jacket she had worn her first day in Paradigm City, Ray had no other warm outerwear. So she wasn't about to turn down a hand-me-down, even if it was Roger's old clothing.

"Is that so, then hopefully you will not be forced to wait all day in line. You'll need to go to the Southeast Dome and apply at a residence and tax office there. Will you be able to find it on your own?" Norman was worried about Ray, though he may not have said it in so many words.

Illegal residents would usually have a difficult time applying for legal residency, not because there was any real reason to deny seekers such, but mainly for bureaucracy and a 'we're better than you' feel that some legal residents had.

"I should be fine. There's a bus station down the street with a map to where it goes, and the rail station can take me the rest of the way to the dome." Ray walked off towards the elevator, "See you when I get back." The doors closed and Ray slowly descended out of sight.

"I will be leaving as well Norman." The red head appeared at Norman's side. She barely came up to his elbow height wise. Wearing her black cloak and holding the shopping basket, she looked ready to go to the store, not track someone down covertly.

"Good luck on the surveillance mission, Ms Dorothy." With that Dorothy left down the stairs, soft clanking noises fading as she went.

Finding the office wasn't an issue, and the line went fairly quick. Filing lout out the forms only took a little bit, and Ray was told it would be a few weeks before she would know if the application was accepted.

'_Hooray for isekai protagonist luck. Except I'm not a protagonist.' _ Ray walked towards the rail system that spanned the distance between domes and the illegal sectors. _How are those sectors illegal anyway? Aren't they just part of the city?'_

A few blocks from the office Ray happened to spot a sign saying a new library had opened a block or so from the station.

'_Oh! That's fortunate, it's on my way back anyway, and I have time until dinner, may as well take a look and see what new books I can find.'_ It was fairly easy for Ray to find the library, more signs pointed the way, there was a large crowd when she arrived. '_Well, other than books, the only entertainment people have here is music and movies. Little wonder they would get this excited about a library.'_

Ray had noticed a cloaked shadow following her not long after she had left the mansion, but had paid little attention to it. '_Dorothy thinks she's being sneaky. Well, can't say I wasn't expecting Roger to have her tail me for a while, after that conversation yesterday. She probably thinks the cloak helps hide her. Well, maybe it does. Not many people have bright red hair after all.' _Truth was red hair was pretty rare in the city. When Ray ran errands for Norman people would comment on how there were two of them living in one house, and that it was, for some reason, enviable. Ray's hair was barely red at all, however. More like someone had run out of red markers when coloring hers. Yet people would comment on it, and usually it wasn't nice. "People with red hair tend to bring bad luck." Ray had heard that more than once, and didn't quite understand where the superstition came from, but suspected it was much like the jest that "Gingers don't have souls," from her own world.

The library was huge, but also cozy. It wasn't too different from a modern library in Ray's own world, save for the lack of technology. Reading nooks, study corners, rent-able study rooms for students of the various institutions around the city. The middle of the library was open, and allowed artificial sunlight in from the sunroof, the second floor had some meeting balconies hanging over the open first floor, and the third and fourth floors had them too. It sort of made a flower shape with the design.

Ray found the section on religion, grabbed a book about reincarnation, went to the science section, found a few books on theories of other worlds, and set off to a corner to read. She felt eyes on her back as she went to the corner, but couldn't see Dorothy anywhere. '_That's odd, I know she followed me in.'_ Just then Ray got the urge to look up at the balcony of the second floor. There was Dorothy, trying her best to hide from Ray, and not draw attention to herself. Ray made eye contact, gave Dorothy a questioning look, then made a gesture as if to invite her to come down.

Dorothy jumped down from the balcony, terrifying the humans below. She quickly walked over to the corner Ray had occupied and sat down next to her.

"Use the stairs next time dumbass. What if a kid had run under you?" Ray didn't bother looking up from the book she was leafing through.

"I did not see any small, unaccompanied children on the first floor." Dorothy paused for a brief second and continued, "Norman will not be pleased to learn you have used more foul language in front of me."

"Norman can deal with it. You could've hurt someone, and for once I'm actually right in using such language."

The two were silent for a while, Ray reading the book about reincarnation, and Dorothy watching, carefully, before asking Ray, "How long did you know I was following you?"

"Whole time. It's cold, but no one else has been wearing cloaks. And the basket makes it look even more suspicious." Ray was dismissive of the entire ordeal, as if she didn't mind being watched like some prey on a hunt.

"Is that so?"

"Yup, now if you don't mind I am trying to read." Ray continued to read in silence until it was about time for the two women to return home.

Dinner was rather solemn. Roger had learned that Ray was fully aware of being watched, Ray had learned Roger didn't trust her, and Dorothy had learned Ray was looking into something peculiar. And of course, Norman had learned of Ray's use of language, but for once he did agree with her.

"While I do not find the words used to be in proper ladylike fashion, Ms Ray is correct that what you did was extremely foolish, and someone could have been injured. Please refrain from doing such gymnastics when you are out of the house Ms Dorothy."

"Told you." Ray had remained pensive since speaking earlier, and in fact, had said nothing since dinner.

The next morning Roger went off to join the Military police in finding and boarding the ghost ship. Norman had made arrangements so that Big O would have additional weapons ready to equip, and had made sure some snacks had been left inside the cockpit.

"Have fun storming the castle." Ray said as he left.

"Isn't he negotiating with a ghost ship?" Dorothy was playing a tune Ray didn't recognize. Ray couldn't help but sigh in frustration.

"Dorothy let's talk." Ray squared up for what was ahead.

"I would rather not." Dorothy continued playing.

"Well fine, then just sit there and listen." Dorothy made no protest to that. "Look, I know you hate me, that's fine, I don't care. But you need to stop being a jerk about it ok? I'm trying to save money and look for a second job to get my own place, but until my papers come back that can't happen. So get off my case for a while would you?"

Norman appeared then, wearing an old military suit. "Well then, I'll be going now."

"Going where?" Dorothy stopped playing and looked over at Norman.

"To wait in Big O for when Master Roger needs him." Norman spoke stately enough.

"I should go," Dorothy replied, and quickly left the room to go wait in Big O.

"Oh my, Ms Dorothy certainly seemed in a hurry. Did something happen between you two again?" Norman gave Ray a questioning look.

"Kinda. I told her to get off my back and not be so rude to me for a while. I'll be gone soon anyways right?" Ray sighed. "Well, it's probably better that she went, Dorothy doesn't need air and that might be needed in a water battle."

"Quite right. Well then, I'll start dinner. Would you like to help Ms Ray." Norman seemed to be in a jovial mood despite the circumstances.

"Yeah sure. Should we make something spicy?" Ray followed him to the kitchen. "Why are you wearing that old grunt suite anyway?"

"Ah, well that's a long story." Norman smiled down at Ray in that fatherly way he had.

"We've got time."

To Be Continued


	6. Ghostly Visitor Osrail!

AN: I'm going to start recommending music from here on out, listen if you want to. Most pieces will be on youtube. For this one, the Haukke Manor theme (The Maiden's Lament) works well for the run through the underground.

* * *

"It was some time ago actually. Not long after the world lost its memories I found myself in need of direction. I was maybe only sixteen at the time when everyone woke up that day. While many like to forget the first few years after as well, I didn't have that luxury. It happened that a few days after The Event, fighting over food and resources started up. No one knew how to create some of the items humans desperately needed to survive, and we didn't know how to recover that information after The Event. I ended up in one of the various resistance groups that was forming around the city, or the ruins that were left at least."

"So the Domes didn't exist yet?" Ray seemed perplexed, hadn't the domes preceded The Event?

"The domes were constructed after Gordon Rosewater gained control by calming all the resistance groups. But from what I remember, only the groundwork and steel lattice work of the domes had been finished when everyone woke up. The glass hadn't been placed yet, and the artificial suns were without bulbs to light." Norman continued his part of the dinner preparations. "But that still took time. For a few months everyone was panicking, I wasn't any different. The group I joined up with had taken refuge in a disused military base, but from what country or province we didn't know."

"No markings or ID's?" Ray found that hard to believe, there had to be something right?

"Not a one. It was as if the very identities of those who had been there was no more, not even a fragment of memory. We did find bodies inside, but it was as if they had been let to rot for decades, and seeing as no one can remember much from before The Event, that may very well have been the case. Nothing but mummified remains could be found, the dog tags had been worn down by whatever had killed and left the men to rot, and nature as well. Any form of ID was removed from them, and we had no choice but to bury those left behind in a mass grave, marked only by stones we could find."

"Sounds like a haunted house." Actually it sounded more like Silent Hill or Resident Evil right before the zombies pop out and snack on you, but Ray didn't think Norman understood what a video game was.

"Indeed, but unlike the ones we see today, this one was very real to those of us without memories. We couldn't remember what ghosts and ghouls might have existed before The Event, if they had ever existed at all, but to us in that moment of being unaware of who and where we were, those spirits from beyond seemed very real." Norman had that kinda voice a story teller took on when recounting scary stories about a campfire.

"Uh huh, and so the group you stuck with in the beginning holed up there?" Ray set about doing whatever task Norman gave her. She wanted to focus on listening to this knowledge she wouldn't have known otherwise.

"We did, for a while. I was one of the younger men in the group, and usually made to do some of the grunt work. While we didn't have any names of the place we were, we did have some old field training manuals, equipment repair manuals, and manuals on how to use the equipment and operate weapons. There was a rather neatly organized stock pile of prepackaged food and ammunition's available to us, and with training we could use them."

"This almost sounds like some macho-man camp." Ray gave Norman a playful jest. '_That also explains why he seems to be an old hand at weapons usage. Probably had to learn how to repair his gear too.'_

"It certainly felt like it. Very few women joined us, most staying in the city remains and hiding. There was a lot of crime in those days, and while the current regime like to make it seem like a peaceful transition, it most certainly was not."

"Scary."

"It was, not having memories, and the all out fights for territory that followed The Event made it unsafe for everyone." Norman continued, "Most of the women that joined up with us did so to learn to protect themselves, or children they had taken in after waking up that day. Some brutes even attacked us to get the women staying with us, not even interested in the food and munitions."

"So is that why you gotta wear an eye-patch?" Ray asked without looking up from cutting the ingredients given to her.

"Well, part of it?" Norman laughed a bit, seeming to be in a better mood now.

"Part?" Ray raised an eyebrow at that remark.

"That is a story for another day."

* * *

While Norman recounted some of his past to Ray, the battle with the Ghost Ship raged on out in Paradigm Harbor.

"Dangit! These ships are annoying, I can't even tell which one is real?" Roger worked the controls of Big O furiously, he needed to avoid the torpedoes the ships were launching at them. Well, one ship at least. He suspected that the many ships were actually one and being projected. But how could he figure out which one it was?

"Roger your tea is ready?"

"Huh?" Dorothy's remark wrecked his train of thought. "Not now Dorothy, I'm kinda busy here."

"I'll just stir some sugar in."

"Dorothy don't bother… Hey wait that's a great idea!" He worked the panels to call Norman back home.

"Yes Master Roger? Is there something you need?" Norman's face appeared on the little red screen to the right.

"Norman did you send over extra arms in the Prairie Dog?" Roger still had to avoid attacks launched his way.

"Indeed Master Roger, you should be able to switch them out easily."

"Wait Big O has extra weapons?" Ray looked into the screen from behind Norman. "Is that practical?"

"Later Ray, and thanks Norman." Roger switched off the screen, sank Big O back into a rather waterlogged Prairie Dog, and swapped Big O's right arm for the Driller arm before launching Big O back out into the ocean.

"Now, let's stir things up!" Roger allowed Big O to sink down the few meters remaining between him and the ocean floor. Once there, Roger activated the Driller arm and pulled the real ship into the whirlpool he created.

"Bingo!" Roger used Big O's laser vision to destroy the torpedoes, following that up with the hip chains to drag the ship underwater, and ended the fight with a Sudden Impact to the dellerect military ships hull, the pressure of the water and the explosive force of a steel fist into the hull made a rather spectacular display as the remaining scraps of the ship sank around the iron giant.

"Phew." Roger flopped back into the chair, finally able to relax after being on edge and tense for the last two hours.

"Roger you tea is cold." Dorothy tried to hand him the cup anyway.

"Thanks," he drained the cold, syrupy liquid from the cup. "Why did Norman install a teapot in here anyways?"

* * *

'_Does he really need to destroy everything?' _The fallen heavens ward known as Angel had retrieved what she needed from the ghost ship before Big O had made scrap of it. A data disk with information about the ghost ship. It wasn't a complete record, as the ships memory drive had been damaged with age, but it did have quite a bit.

Back in the little hovel Angel called her residence, she was using an outdated computer she bought with her ill begotten funds. Well, it's not like she had stolen the money. Paradigm City government owed her for the hours she worked darn it! Not paying her yet, because they were taking their sweet time certifying her identity. Well, that identity was false, she sure wasn't Jenny Lovejoy or whatever name her compatriots had made for her. Still, they should have paid her for her work. She had to pay her bills and buy groceries just like every other human in the city.

The data disk had plenty of info, but none that the Union would want. They wanted memories, such as who had made it, why, where? But none of that was present. The ghost ship had actually been an autonomous military ship created to take down enemy water transports, whoever the enemy was. But since no one knew what codes to give the ship, it had gone rouge after the event and attacked everything it came across. If another one popped up the Union wanted to capture it for themselves, but even though that ship should have had the codes to stand down on its drive, none were there.

There was one bit of info Angel had found interesting, a name that repeated throughout the files. _Ray Law_. That was the negotiators butlers assistant right? She barely looked eighteen, how could her name be in the files? And more than once at that? Angel wasn't sure why, but she intended to corner that girl and find out, not just about Ray, but also what she could find out about Roger Smith as well. He had to have a type, right?

"There's no place like home." Angel repeated that line, to give herself comfort. She really did want to go back home, wherever it was.

* * *

The fog had abated after the ghost ship was destroyed in the harbor battle, but not long after another fog set in, not as thick or chilly, but it still made it difficult to see much beyond the railing of the patio. Of course, with fog, came the stories of yet another ghost.

Roger was reading his morning paper, with Dorothy annoyed at him for reading at the table. Ray gave no fucks, as she had long since settled into the standard routine of the Smith household. But the article on the front page did pique her interest.

"What's the article on the front about?" Ray usually took the paper once Roger was done with it, but decided to just ask now instead of waiting.

"Hm? Oh, some ghost has been appearing near the Brooklyn Bridge and killing MP's. I highly doubt it's a ghost though. It wasn't the last time this happened." Roger sounded disinterested as he drank his hot coffee. Roger had woken up early for once.

"Master Roger you have a guest by the name of Fraiser." Norman reappeared in the dining room.

"Send him away Norman, I'm not interested in politics this early in the morning."

"And how do you intend to affect Big O's repairs then, Master Roger?" Norman sounded annoyed while having a bemused expression. Ray had to choke back the coffee she was drinking trying not to laugh.

"Ah… Ok ok fine, I'll meet with him as soon as I am dressed, until then make sure he's comfortable." Roger rubbed his temples like he had a headache.

"Wonderful idea Master Roger. I'll make sure their needs are seen too. Ms Dorothy, Ms Ray, please take care of the chores for now."

"Yes sir." Both spoke in unison for a rare occurrence.

Once Norman had left to see to the Fraiser man, Roger quickly ate his breakfast and left the two girls alone. Ray looked over at Dorothy and said, "Ya know, Norman can be kinda scary when he's about to lose his temper."

"Then it's best we don't give him reason to lose it," Dorothy finished off the rest of her tea and cleaned up the table, while Ray did the dishes. For once, the two got along without being forced to do so, and it was a quiet amiable day.

Roger had of course taken the Bonnie Fraiser case, he had a soft spot for families trying to find each other, not that he would ever tell a soul. He half suspected that the reason he felt that way was the lack of blood relatives he had, or maybe some odd hope his birth mother was still alive. Not that he remembered her. While he had a personal rule to leave the past in the past, he also knew humans were creatures that relied on hope, and it was better to have some than none at all. Of course Bonnie's brother Rick didn't think that was so.

"So you took the case? You know he's not alive right? What are you gonna do, hire a look alike? My poor old mother's blind anyway, so that won't work." Rick Fraiser, clad in a white tennis outfit, leaned down to yell at Roger getting into the Griffin.

"I'm simply going to do my best to find the truth, whatever that may be." Roger drove off towards the Speakeasy, and away from the opulence that was Dome life, he needed to see Big Ear.

"Everyone knows what happened in the Bonnie Fraiser case a year ago Roger. Well, at least what was made public at any rate?" Big Ear wasn't reading when Roger came in for a change, instead he was smoking a cigarette.

"So the military police were hiding something then?" Roger sipped at his beer, in no hurry to leave for once. The ghost and the rumors about Bonnie being alive involved the dark of night, and it was the middle of the day.

"Who knows? But whatever Bonnie Fraiser found got him killed, that much is certain." Big Ear grabbed his paper and flipped through it, "You seem to be chasing quite a few ghosts recently. And not just the scary kind."

"What's that about?"

"That girl you have living with you now. Ms Wayneright isn't hard to find information on, but it's limited. Ms Law on the other hand, really doesn't seem to exist." He seemed disinterested, but Roger knew that wasn't true. For Big Ear, information was like booze and cigarettes, he needed it for his daily life and work. Not finding something said more than having all the information in Paradigm.

"She seems to be rather alive for a ghost." Roger tried to downplay his own surprise. If Big Ear couldn't find anything out, and Dastun couldn't either, then where else could Roger look for information. Ray hadn't been forthcoming in his attempts to question her.

"Spirits come in many forms Roger. Sometimes it's in a form we can touch. She told you she came from a small town outside the city right?"

"Yeah, someplace it would take a while to get to or from." Roger knew this line of questioning was going in circles, but it was all he had at the moment.

"None of the other illegal residents can corroborate that story, or that a town that far away even exists." Big Ear sipped at his whiskey, "In fact, most say that it's impossible for anyone to survive a journey here to the city from that far away. Nothing but desert for miles to the north and south. It's no secret to those that pay attention that foreigners exist. Even if the government denies it. And most people outside the domes don't care either, seeing as they live with them in the illegal resident districts anyway."

"So you think she's a foreigner that slipped through the cracks?" Roger finished his beer and left the usual amount for Big Ear. "Well, that might be the case."

Rogers next stop was meeting with Dastun to find more out about the Bonnie Fraiser case, and much as what Big Ear had told him, it seemed like all the higher ups that had been assassinated had had something to do with the riots last year.

The riots were over those in the illegal resident sectors wanting better living conditions instead of being displaced by newer domes being built to help support the growing infrastructure, and for the Paradigm City government to stop ignoring their pleas for better lives outside the domes. Of course the city had responded with force, which only managed to make the conflict worse. Furthermore, it led to more riots, more fighting between citizens and police, and for the rioters to actually start acting together as a coherent group instead of many different groups. That all came to an end when the nicest cop on the beat, Bonnie Fraiser, had been shot in the riots and fallen off the bridge to his death. Except…

"Except his body was never recovered." Dastun handed Roger the report.

"Isn't that unusual?" Roger asked while reading through the papers on the clipboard that had been given to him.

"Yeah, beats me. It's not like people fall off bridges anyway, other than the occasional suicide that is." Dan Dastun had a way of talking about the macabre as if he was deciding what to get for lunch. That is to say, it was his normal.

"Even then, don't you find the bodies within a day or two?" Roger gave him the clipboard back and sipped at the lukewarm coffee that cops always had on hand, kinda burnt, and maybe stale, but for Roger it was kinda nostalgic.

"Yeah, yeah. Look Roger, I get that this case doesn't add up, but you really need to leave this sort of thing to the police. Why are you even looking into a year old accidental homicide?"

"His mother asked me to as a last birthday wish, that's all." With that Roger shut the Majors office door and headed home.

* * *

Later that day, before going out in Big O to confront the ghost, Roger tried to question Ray again.

"So where exactly is this town you come from?"

"To the south, quite a long ways away."

"And its name?"

"What good would that do you? It's not on any maps, and even if it were, getting back is my problem, not yours."

"So you intend to go back?" Why did Roger sound surprised? He wasn't sure, but why would Ray want to go back?

"Yes, eventually." Ray looked annoyed.

"And you haven't tried to go back before?" Roger tried to shrug it off.

"I don't even remember how I got to Paradigm, how am I supposed to remember the way back?" '_If there even is a way back home.'_ After that Ray retreated to her room, no longer wanting to be interrogated. Once Roger had left she joined Dorothy out on the patio, it was so foggy that the gynoid appeared as if she was spirit, tangentially in the world of the living. Ray couldn't help but sigh. '_Even if I told them the truth, no one would believe me. It's better to keep my head down, keep working here for a time, and take as many notes from my reading as possible.'_ Except the reading hadn't gotten her even one step closer to finding a way home. It had only served to befuddle her mind further. Much of the books she had read on reincarnation, other worlds and the like had been more or less the same as such texts in her own world. You were either religious or insane to believe such texts, at least Ray thought so.

"Your search hasn't been going well, has it?" Dorothy didn't bother to look at her while staring out at the city. Pinpricks of light shone from behind the curtain of fog.

"Is it that obvious?" Ray sat down, back against a marble pillar. The cool feeling of the stone pressing up against her back was soothing.

"You haven't been going to the library as often this last week." The wind slowly fluttering Dorothy's black dress skirt made the apparition appearance that much more believable.

"Well, it's not like I'm going to find what I'm looking for in a library, at least not now that I've searched as many as I could get into. No matter how many books I read, or what topic, I can't seem to find any answers to any of my questions." Ray closed her eyes and allowed the ambient noise of the city to help her drift off.

Dorothy looked down at what she felt was a sad excuse for a young woman. '_She can't remember how she got here, or why, and instead of looking for a way home she reads old religious texts? Unbelievable.' _Dorothy would have just let Ray sleep out in the cold and fog, but thought better of it and took Ray to her room instead. On the way there, Ray started muttering incoherently in her sleep, and what was more, she snuggled against Dorothy's shoulder. Dorothy knew it was an involuntary response in humans, but she disliked that the woman she was holding was displaying any such reactions. '_I should just drop her. It's the least she deserves.'_ She felt eyes on her back and decided it would be better to put Ray in her bed, Norman wouldn't appreciate Dorothy's behavior. As soon as Dorothy had put Ray down she began to toss and turn, moaning as if in extreme pain. '_She's barely been asleep for ten minutes and already she is having nightmares.'_

Nightmares had plagued Ray as of late and had gotten so bad that more often than not Ray would join Dorothy for some time at night, not speaking, only staying close to the gynoid for some form of comfort. What comfort Ray could derive from such limited contact Dorothy did not know, but she knew it calmed Ray to have someone close by.

'_What could she possibly be having nightmares about anyway? Her life back home?' _If only it was so innocent as what Dorothy imagined. Dorothy stayed by Ray's side for a time, wondering if the presence of a gynoid being there could calm the nightmares in the human.

In Ray's nightmares she was being chased by the archetype through the paths of the underground. Only tonight's nightmare would end differently. Tonight, she could hear the archetype chasing her, calling out to her, begging her to join it and make it whole again. Ray didn't bother to look back as she ran through the barely lit corridors, it wouldn't do anything to belay her fears. Behind her would be the archetype, jaws gleaming from the diodes behind whatever material made its face plating. More recently a new Megadeus had joined in the chase, one Ray knew the name of, but not why it was chasing her. It said nothing, just followed behind the archetype plodding after her, wearing a sheet like a ghost. Osrail, the projection Megadeus, had joined in the fray that was Ray's nightmarish run through the underground.

But then something changed, the corridors started to have paintings on the walls, the paintings turned into empty fields, then not so empty fields giving way to wheat fields, the lights above became glass and artificial sunlight, and much like footprints on the beach get washed away, so too did the sounds of the precursors ebb from her mind. Before long she stopped running, and slowly walked up to the farm house before her. There sat someone she expected to find, but wasn't sure why he would meet her in dreams.

"You have come a long way to be here, young lady. Sit with me here for a while, let your mind be at ease." Gordon Rosewater, the 'creator' of Paradigm City and father to the current head of the Paradigm Corporation, sat in his wooden rocking chair staring out over the farm that surrounded his small wooden cabin. He wore much the same as he always did. Red shirt under blue jean overalls with a kerchief in his pocket, browned and beaten work boots and a straw hat. The old man didn't bother to look at Ray while he spoke. That was just his way, Ray knew.

"So you finally summon me here?" Ray sat on the edge of the porch, looking out to the farm. It was rather nostalgic, even though Ray had never been to the main farming dome. "Why now?"

"There wasn't a reason to call you here before. You who are of another world had no part to play in the story originally." His voice was raspy, but sounded somewhat exhausted as well, like he didn't want to repeat himself, only rest.

"Did something change?" Ray looked back at the octogenarian.

"Indeed, quite a bit has changed. And there is much to tell you in so short a time." Gordon stopped rocking and became serious.

"Well, best get on with the explanations then." Ray laid back on the porch to listen.

"To put it plainly, the negotiator and the android have come to find you a curiosity, the negotiator finds this mystery solvable while the android wishes for your nonexistence. What is more, the butler has come to see you as one of his own, and memory given form has found you to be a part of a past that shouldn't exist."

"I thought you said you were going to put that plainly." Ray couldn't help but laugh. Always talking in riddles this old man was, but she understood what he meant, all the same. "So Roger wants to fly too close to the sun, Dorothy wants to cast me out as the beast does to the witch, Norman thinks of me as someone important to him, and Angel… Wait, what was that about "finding me a part of a past that shouldn't exist"?"

"You will learn soon enough that you who should not be in this world in any form, have become an indispensable part of it."

"Wait, hold up. Does that mean I cannot go home?"

"It means that there is no easy way home for you." And with Gordon's last words at parting Ray woke up with a start, in cold sweat and shaking as if she had run yet another underground marathon.

Ray got up and went about her usual after nightmare ritual, she went to look for Dorothy. Though she knew Dorothy disliked her very being, she was also the only one awake late at night, and so the only one Ray could seek a form of solace from. Ray left her room and set off towards the parlor, where Dorothy was usually at night.

For some reason Ray heard what sounded like the clip of high heels behind her. "Ok Dorothy that enough trying to… scare… ME! AAAAHHHHHHH!"

Behind Ray's back wasn't Dorothy at all, but some tall fair skinned apparition whose body was only partially visible in the gloom. Ray took off like a rocket and kept running towards Roger's room, not sure what he could do, but it was a better bet than standing still.

"Help, help someone's oof!" She tripped. No, someone tripped her. Ray felt small cold hands grab her and yanked her into a small room. "Uwah don't hurt me!" Ray threw her hands up in defense against whatever had grabbed her.

"While the thought has crossed my mind, Norman would not approve of violence." It was Dorothy. She had dragged Ray from the hallway into a hidden security room with surveillance cameras.

"Oh thank gods, it's just you Dorothy." Dorothy was not amused by that comment. "There's someone in the house."

"I know, I saw them break in, and then after you left your room they followed you until you started running." Dorothy was half looking at the monitors and half at Ray.

"Have you been standing in this room all night?"

"Yes, I usually watch you while you're sleeping." The less than amused, befuddled and incredulous look on Ray's half asleep features made Dorothy aware that that was probably not something she should have ever admitted to.

"We're gonna have a talk about your hobbies later, but for now, who the heck snuck in and why were they chasing me?" Ray looked at the monochrome monitors, and saw that the person who had snuck in looked rather familiar. "Oh, is that Angel?"

"And how exactly do you know that woman's name?" Ray could've sworn Dorothy hissed, but she was also slowly coming down off adrenaline and waking up.

"I don't. Not personally anyway." Angel walked back towards Ray's room, and hid around the corner. "Is she waiting for me to come back?" When Angel didn't move and used a mirror to peak around the answer was obvious.

"Hm… But why?" Gordon's words rung out in Ray's ears "_...The memory given form has found you to be part of a past that does not exist."_ '_Oh, maybe she wants to question me about something? But where did she find out about me?'_

"Ok Dorothy, I have an idea, and I need your help. No don't give me that look, just listen." Ray explained her plan, and Dorothy raised an eyebrow, which Ray wasn't aware she could do, and just nodded affirmation.

Ray quickly snuck out of the room, and slowly, taking her time, went back to hers. Just as expected when she got close Angel came out from around the corner ready to meet her.

"Well, if it isn't the fallen Angel? What exactly are you doing here outside of regular business hours?" Ray tried to play it cool, hands in her pant pockets and sort of leaning back like she never had a care. But on the inside she was anxious as could be. This all hinged on Dorothy doing what Ray asked, and Angel not being unhinged herself.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Angel drew a gun and leveled it at her point blank. "You have information I want, and you're going to give it to me."

"Then you had best lower your gun dumbass." Ray gave a cocky, shit eating smile.

"And why is that?"

"Can't get any information if I'm dead can ya?" Angel lowered her gun, looking suspiciously at Ray. "You were never gonna shot me anyways, just all bluff and blunder you are. You've never shot anyone before, I can tell, your eyes say as much and your expression just now allies my claim."

"So what? I still have a gun, and I can still shoot!" Angel sounded angry, like she couldn't believe her non-hostage was questioning her.

"That would be a rather ill fated idea, Ms Lovejoy." Right on cue Norman came around the corner, in his striped pajamas of all things! And was he wearing bunny slippers? His face was illuminated by a small candle casting shadows, trying to make him look even more intimidating was Ray's guess. Ray tried to hold herself together and not laugh at the strangeness of it all.

"What? How?"

"All according to keikaku." Ray said victoriously. "You never suspected a thing did you? That it might be you walking into _my_ trap?"

"Why you! I'll…"

"Be leaving now, and returning at a more appropriate hour. For the sake of your health, I recommend after nine o'clock in the morning Ms Lovejoy." Norman may have been smiling, but he was very annoyed. On the verge of forcing Angel to do chores out of spite, even if she didn't work in the manor annoyed. Ray would've loved to see that play out, but knew it was unlikely to happen.

"Grr, fine. I'll come back for you then!" Angel shouted as she ran away.

"Be sure to use the front door next time Ms Lovejoy." Norman followed her out to lock up. Not long after they were out of sight Dorothy appeared from the shadows.

"Norman isn't happy about being woken up you know."

"Yeah, but it worked, she got scared off without finding anything but how to sneak in. And hopefully Norman fortifies where ever she snuck in from." Ray sighed, she was exhausted from lack of proper sleep and nightmares. "Well she's gone, that's what's important."

"Why was she after you? And what's a keikaku? Is it another foul word?"

"I honestly have no clue. Keikaku means plan. I was poking fun at her acting all high and mighty."

"You truly are an enigma, aren't you?" Dorothy left Ray with those words, and Ray attempted to get rest. Not that it would mean much. Norman woke Ray up early and made her do more work than usual. Not out of spite, but because there was quite a bit to do today, finding all the places one could sneak in from and installing cameras. Still, the work gave Ray time to think. She wanted to know something, and the only real way to find out was to hide in Big O and wait for his encounter with Osrail. It should've happened the night before, but something must have happened, as the ghost hadn't appeared.

* * *

The next night Roger went out again to watch for the ghost. The deadline for finding Bonnie Fraiser was drawing near. His mother's birthday was the next day, and Roger had promised to bring him home. He had worked out a deal with Dastun to convince Bonnie to turn himself in after visiting his mother, so no more violence would be needed.

Roger was waiting on the Brooklyn Bridge, looking out over the choppy waters. It was late, foggy and chilly, and Roger really hoped that the ghost would show up soon. He didn't have to wait much longer. A police cruiser drove by, stopped, and a high up MP got out of the car, screaming and shooting at someone, Roger couldn't quite make out who, but he had his suspicions. The figure of the MP soon fell off the bridge, and the ghost appeared, that was his cue.

"Now Big O." And the black metal giant arose from the waves, stopping the missiles the massive looking ghost had launched. Roger quickly got into the seat, never knowing that behind the cockpit's red glass dome and the metal panels in the neck, Ray was hidden behind all the neck instruments listening for something she hoped she wouldn't hear.

"Big O, action!" with that, the battle began. As did the faceless voices.

"_I don't want to fight you, only harm the one that hurt my master. Begone from my sight!"_ Unlike the voice of the archetype that had been a shrill metallic scream, Osrails voice was angry, but also level. "_You need not fight us, we can work together later, but for now revenge must be enacted!"_

Big O gave no response himself, only the one Roger gave by continuing to fight. The military Police needlessly wasted their bullets below, and in return one vessel was obliterated by a missile. Ray kept her place well hidden, until Roger fired the hip anchors to get Big O out of the way of some lasers, and in the process tipped Big O on his right side.

"Wah!" Ray came tumbling out from behind the back neck panel and slammed hard into the metal wall of Big O's neck. "Ow!"

"Ray? What are you…?" Never mind that now I need to finish the fight. Big O lock onto that missile trail." The iron giant responded to its masters request, and Roger smashed the launcher buttons to send a volley response. "Ha! Take that!"

The response was received, and Osrail fell over, still active, but no longer able to fight. He did use what up time he still had to show how he had projectors installed.

"_But why? I had no qualms with you, we could have worked together to end the corruption of this city."_ with that Osrail went silent, and Ray heard nothing more from him. Soon after day broke, Roger convinced Bonnie to see his mother and turn himself in after, and the brothers had a tearful reunion before Bonnie was arrested and carted away.

Back at the mansion Ray was being scolded by Norman. How could she do that, sneaking into Big O, and staying hidden when a battle was going on? Roger needed to know she was there to account for her safety and so on. Once the lecture was over though, Ray still had the stony and terrified, thousand yard stare she had had when Roger sent her home and informed Norman that she needed to be disciplined. Norman had levied a number of tasks on Ray while seeing to her injuries and making sure she didn't have a concussion. But nothing Norman could threaten would make her expression change. Ray's mind was too far away, too far gone. She finally understood part of what Gordon meant, and she hated every second of the knowing, and the not knowing.

When Norman left her, only shaking his head unsure of what to do for or about Ray, Dorothy came to her side. In an unusual show of solidarity, Dorothy sat beside Ray on her bed, saying nothing.

"Dorothy."

"Yes?"

"What if I'm not me anymore?"

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I, and that's the problem. I'm scared Dorothy. I don't know why I keep having these nightmares, or why I can hear the megaduce when Roger and Big O fight them, but I can hear them as clear as I can hear your voice beside me. And it scares me." Tears started to stream down Ray's cheeks, her face contorted with fear and agony, and for the first time in about three months she cried.

Dorothy laid her small hand on Ray's back, and tried to soothe her. Dorothy knew all too well what it meant not to understand yourself, and just how frightening that could be.

No Side

* * *

Happy Halloween all.


	7. My Hobbies include MURDER!

Build up our Machine from Bendy and the Ink Machine is the recommended song this chapter.

* * *

It had been about two weeks since the Megadeus Osrails destruction, and Ray still had a thousand yard stare much of the time. She hoped things could return to her normal, and she would wake to find Paradigm City a fading dream. Alas, no such fate awaited her, as daily she awoke in the city of forgotten memories.

Roger had tried to question her, Norman had tried to comfort her, but it made little difference. Ray was depressed. And why wouldn't she be?

'_There's no easy way home for me. He may have well as just said I can't go home ever, like a death sentence. Am I gonna die in this world? So much for that isekai protagonist luck. Then again, very few ever want to go home, or ever think about going home. And most never think of their families. Is mine ok? Are they aware I got transported to another world? What about my friends, are they ok?'_ Such thoughts were a daily occurrence for Ray. But this only served to depress her further. The only answers she had was that going home was a far flung dream, and that she was more than likely going to have to see the story to the end, whichever route it took.

That in itself was a problem. With the world seeming to mix both the anime and manga stories together, there was a possibility that it could go either way, or neither way. And did the rest of the outside content, such as the novel, come into play? Ray didn't know, and it made her anxious on top of her depression. She sighed quite a lot when she wasn't working, barely read any of the comic books she had bought, and while the nightmares had bated for the time being Ray still couldn't sleep.

Finally Dorothy could take it no longer, and chose to snap Ray out of it, somehow. Norman was worried about her, and so was Roger. Dorothy didn't like the fact Ray was getting so much attention and was going to do something about it! She would find a way, not for Ray's sake; she disliked the young woman immensely. But that would have to wait. For today after waking Roger with yet another assault on the piano, he had had more than enough of the abuse to the instrument and his sleep schedule and dragged Dorothy away. Ray chased after, only for Norman to grab her shirt collar and ask where she intended to go when there was still work to be done.

"Um, I just wanted to go out for a while, can't I finish the work later today?" Ray looked deflated somehow. She really had wanted to go out. Being stuck in the house wasn't doing her any good, maybe going out would cheer her up.

Roger was holding open the elevator, and gave a concerned look to Norman. Ray hadn't expressed much of anything these past two weeks other than despair and being on edge, so this was a unique chance to figure out what was bothering her, and maybe get her to finally answer some of Rogers burning questions.

"Well, so long as they are finished by the end of the day, it should be alright." Norman let her go, and Ray joined Roger and Dorothy on their outing.

Ray knew where they were going, but hoped actually leaving the manse and doing something would calm her nerves. For two weeks she had been on edge as well as dejected. Of course Roger would start questioning her, she expected as much. But his probing was a tad gentler than before.

"What's been bothering you Ray? The past two weeks you've been, well, not you. Even the teasing way you speak to Dorothy is..."

"Nothing you can change sadly. It should be obvious why I'm depressed, I can't remember anything about how I got here."

"And it worries you?" Roger sounded concerned. Of course he was, the mysterious figure in his house had become even more so, shutting herself off further from everyone. "But at least you have some of your memories from before coming here, right?"

"Yeah to both, and a lot of other questions I can't or don't have answers too." Ray just looked out the window, watching the city go by.

"Such as?"

"Is my family ok? Do they know I made it to the City, did I even tell them I was leaving town to come here? Do they even know this place exists; they live pretty far away after all. And what about my friends back home? I'm sure their worried about me too, but I can't find a way to contact any of them," Ray gave a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, I can see why that would upset you. You still haven't remembered how you arrived here in the City right?" Roger had returned to his stoic self. Was he trying not to let Ray's problems bother him? She didn't know.

"No, I haven't." Ray sighed again and leaned against the car door. The cool of the metal and velvet interior was something to take her mind off the world.

In the back seat Dorothy looked as if she was pouting. '_Perhaps I should have just asked her myself. I will force her to go back to being herself for Norman and Rogers sake.'_

Soon the Griffin and its passengers arrived in a colorfully graffitied neighborhood, and descended into the underground bar Amadeus. The interior was much the same as what Ray expected, dank lighting in alcoves, dark paint to help keep the light low, and a few tables neatly arranged around the piano in the center. In the bar was a friend of Roger's that neither woman had yet to meet, but whom Ray already knew about. Soon the music ended, and the friend came to introduce himself.

"Roger Smith. It's been quite some time." A jovial sounding voice came from a rather singular expression face.

"It has at that Instro." Roger was smiling. While Instro didn't have the range of facial movements Dorothy had, the pianist had other ways of expressing himself. Tone and gestures were his usual methods.

"What brings you here today?"

"I was hoping you could teach my ward some of your more, gentle playing techniques, shall we say." Roger winked. No subtlety or tact at all. Dorothy gave him a dirty look for half a second before going back to her dour self.

"You flatter me Roger, and you are Ms?" He turned slightly to look at the two who came with Roger to the bar.

"R. Dorothy Wayneright." Dorothy got off the bar stool and curtsied. Instro gave a half bow in return.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms Wayneright. And who is this other young lady with you?" Instro inquired further.

"Ah, I'm Ray, Norman's assistant more or less." Ray didn't mean to sound rude or evasive, she was just exhausted and wanted to listen to Instro play more. His playing was actually calming, unlike a certain other android she wouldn't name.

The piano lesson began shortly after, as Instro had the bar closed after lunch to prepare for dinner and the night time after work crowd.

"Her forte is on point, and piesimo is well tempered, the techniques are quite flawless, are you sure I have anything to teach her Roger?" Instro was bobbing a finger along to Dorothy's playing, keeping time in his own way, but turned his head to see Rogers face.

"Not to beat the poor piano in the morning would be a nice start." Ray chimed in over from the bar. She was too young to drink alcohol after waking up in Paradigm City, and also lacked the proper ID still, so the bartender had given her a soda instead.

"I can hear you, you know that right?" Dorothy's head was barely visible over the piano. Her eyes narrowed, and Ray was reminded of a cat trying to hide itself unsuccessfully before pouncing on its prey. Ray cackled at the thought of Dorothy being a little cat, it fit her somehow.

"I'm well aware, but what exactly do you think you can do to me rust bucket? Play a tuba to wake me up?" Ray was practically jeering. "Play a show tune? That would be a twist." Ray was laughing, a remarkable change in mood from that morning.

"Do they always act like this?"

"Unfortunately." Roger sighed, musing his hair in frustration. '_It's nice that she's back to normal I guess.' _The piano lesson continued for some time, with Dorothy playing various pieces by Mozart or Chopin, until an old man in a rather comically large top hat and zigzagging hair interrupted them with his clapping.

"Instro your playing is as wonderful as always, hrm?" The old man then noticed that Dorothy was at the piano, and took off his hat. "Oh, I was unaware you had guests." his voice reminded Ray of craggy rocks and tires running over them.

"Ah, Mr Gieseng, it has been awhile, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Instro may have sounded fine, but somehow Ray got the sense he was tense, very agitated too.

"I was just coming to ask you to reconsider helping with your father's legacy, but I see you're busy. I'll return later." He returned the top hat to his head and left.

"Instro, who was that?" Roger asked. Something about the old man had set Roger off alarm bells in his head. Wasn't the bar Instro's father's legacy?

"Now then, let us continue the lesson shall we?" Instro refused to answer. If only being bothered about his father legacy were the poor droids only troubles.

* * *

Later that night, Major Dan Dastun would be requested at the sight of a murder. Yet it was no ordinary homicide case.

"As you can see, the corpse has been eviscerated with what looks like claw marks. Leg bones are broken to prevent escape. Blood spatter covers the entire one room apartment, and we can't get a solid ID on the victim as a result of the injuries to the victims face pre and post mortem. "

"This is gruesome, even for an android gone rouge. Are the teeth intact enough for dental records?" Major Dan Dastun had seen a few androids gone rouge in his life, but this was nothing like previous cases. Whoever or whatever had done this had been ruthless.

"No sir, whoever did this was thorough, they didn't want the victim ID'd." The grunt next to him, Dastun couldn't remember his name, but he seemed half competent.

"What's up with that bloody hand print over there?" Dastun pointed to a hand print on the wall, that looked like it had been made by a beast, palm and claws etched out in ruby red dried blood. But something about it caught Dastuns attention. The marking had no fingerprints, just seemed flat, almost like a machine had made it to hide the various markings an androids hand would have.

"It couldn't be." Dastun trailed off. "See of all the androids in this sector have an alibi." He pulled his cap down over his face and started to leave the crime scene. '_I hope I'm wrong about this.'_

* * *

"What do you mean he's been arrested Dastun?" Roger was shouting into the phone.

"Exactly what I said. Look Rog, he's asking to see you. Why I don't know, but no lawyer will take his case, so I guess he has to ask for you." Dan gave a heavy sigh, and massaged the lattice work of scars on his head to ease the tension headache he felt coming on. "Look, I don't think he did it either, but he's the only android in that area without an alibi."

"Fine. I'm heading over immediately." Roger slammed down the receiver and went off to see Instro at the precinct. Ray seemed distressed as Roger left, and the light made it seem like Dorothy was frowning.

"Thank you for coming Roger. I may not have much time left." Instro was only wearing pants! They had taken his coat and shirt to make sure he had no weapons, and to check for blood. They took his immaculately cared for shoes to check for blood and to match it to the footprints found at the scene. His hands were cuffed to the table in the interrogation room, but worse still he had some kinds of heavy mitts on to prevent him from harming anyone in the event he had gone insane. It was altogether too much for Roger's sensibility. Instro was a gentle android, not violent.

"This is ridiculous Instro, of course you didn't do it. You aren't that kind of android, you would never ruin your hands with blood. Everyone knows you care for yourself better than most androids so you can continue playing."

"Be that as it may, the City seems to think I am guilty. If no proof is found in forty eight hours I am to be decommissioned." Instro sounded crestfallen, not looking up from the table. Though his face didn't move, it was easy to tell he was sad.

"Decommissioned!" Roger couldn't believe his ears. They were going to kill Instro?! The gentleman droid whose love of the piano was unmatched by even humans. Roger couldn't stand for it! And he wouldn't sit ideally by either. He left the interrogation room and told Dastun he would find his proof of innocence.

"Look Roger, he's my friend too, but he doesn't have an alibi. Says he went down for a few hours for some kind of maintenance, so he wasn't recording for that time. No recording means no alibi."

"I know that. Someone must know something, I intend to find out," Roger's first stop was Big Ear at the Speakeasy.

"I need info in a hurry." Roger slapped the bills down ahead of time.

"What's the rush?" Big Ear knew this wasn't like Roger, but of course without questions then he couldn't give the right information.

"Paradigm Corporation intends to decommission Instro if proof of his innocence in a homicide case isn't found in 47 hours."

"I see, well, I'll tell you what I know." Big Ear flipped through his paper. "There's been rumors of someone in a trench coat walking around outside the domes muttering at night. Supposedly it looks like an android, but it runs away anytime someone gets near."

"I see, I'll have to go to that neighborhood it was spotted in then." He left and made rounds that night to find the real culprit. Roger didn't have to do much of anything however. While he couldn't find the person Big Ear described, another murder occurred in much the same way as the previous murder while Instro was in custody. But even so the city wouldn't let him free, saying he could have co-conspirators.

"This is just ridiculous." Roger was pissed, he knew Instro didn't do it, and Dastun knew too, but still the City wouldn't budge. He was fuming so much Ray avoided him more than before, hiding in her room until Dorothy attempted to drag her out for dinner.

"I don't want to."

"And why not?" Ray's fingers had a death grip on the door, and Dorothy couldn't force Ray out without harming her.

"Cause I don't. Just leave me be and go have dinner in peace ok!" With that Ray retreated into her room. "Not like she would believe me if I told her I can't handle being around aggressively angry people when I'm already in a not so good frame of mind."

Dinner ended and Roger went off with the new information he had gained that day. That night, while Roger was attempting to catch the murderer in the nick of time, Ray was walking around late at night, against Norman's wishes. Not sleeping was taking its toll, and Ray thought a nice relaxing walk later in the evening would help. She picked up some new comics at the magazine stand, and some new young adult fantasy series that was becoming popular. Heading towards the mansion Ray felt like she was being watched.

'_Is it Angel again?'_ Ray had spotted a pink convertible a few blocks back. Ray started weaving through some back alleys to throw the woman off. She was sure that Angel couldn't predict where she was, maybe where she was headed for though.

Suddenly Ray was alone on the street, not a back alley, but smack in the middle of the street. In front of her, well, it looked like a mummy. Skin sunken and dried out, eyes looked hollow, mouth stitched shut, but most importantly was that its partly bandaged hands were covered in blood that dripped from the rotten bandages onto the asphalt. The fingers looked like claws, no less dulled for having recently been used. It, no he, had killed again. And now he was staring Ray down, eyes seeming to glint with ill intent in the low light of the street lamps.

He lunged at her then, swinging his hand like a club from above his head towards Ray's right side. She jumped back to get out of the way, but the hand connected to her lower leg, making a terrible and deep gash.

"AH!" She screamed out in agony and collapsed on the pavement, holding her leg to try and stop the bleeding.

The mummy loomed over her then raising his left arm above her head, intending to strike. Ray could only look up helpless and eyes wide with fear. Only he was the one that went flying.

CRACK! A gunshot rang out and the mummy ran away from his most recent intended victim. Too bad Ray wasn't safe yet.

"Are you alright? That looks bad, come on get up and move." It was Angel, her pink car only a few feet away. "Glad I was tailing you. If that monster had killed you… Well whatever, get in."

"I'm not…"

"You don't have a choice." Angel pointed the gun at her, but seeing that Ray couldn't get up she grabbed her and helped her stand. "Now walk!" The gun was pressed into Rays back, and she had no choice but to hobble to the awaiting car.

"Where are you going to take me?" Ray was out of breath from only going a short distance of maybe ten feet, and she was in pain.

"Home." Angel started driving in the direction of the mansion.

"Wait, you kidnapped me so you could take me home?" The entire situation was unbelievable.

"Would you have gotten in the car had I told you?"

"Yes."

"You'd have believed me?" Angel sounded flustered.

"Yes."

"Why?" Angel now looked confused.

"I'm bleeding. Where else would you take me? The hospital? Well, that would've been the smart choice, but then you can't question me if I'm in emergency surgery." Soon they were in front of the mansion, and Angel helped Ray hobble up the stairs to the door. "Oh, using an actual entrance this time are we? Norman will be thrilled."

"Quiet you." Angel rang the bell and the two waited. Soon Norman opened the door and his one good eye widened in surprise.

"Oh my, Ms Ray what happened?" He ushered them into the downstairs parlor.

"I got attacked by the thing Roger is chasing." Ray attempted to walk in on her own, but when she put her leg down the wound gushed blood onto the floor, and Ray felt as if she had been struck by lighting. "Gwah. Ouch." She moaned out face contorting as to try and hide the pain she felt.

"I'll help you to the medical room Ray. Come inside Ms Lovejoy, I have some questions for you as well. Ah, Dorothy would you be so kind as to clean up the blood? Someone could trip in that." Norman let Ray lean on him for support.

"Yes Norman." As if reading his mind she already had a mop and bucket.

"Sorry for making more mess Dorothy." Ray was weak, and her already pale skin more so from the blood loss. Soon she was lying down on a bench in the medical room which was really just a roomie supply closet. Her ankle was placed in a sling attached to the bench so her leg would stay elevated.

"You said this happened because of the monster Master Roger is chasing? My word this wound is quite awful. I'm going to need more than bandages to fix it I'm afraid. Some antiseptic rinse, numbing shots and stitches will be needed." Norman was slowly probing the Ray's leg and listening to her hiss or moan in response. Dorothy appeared in the doorway then, "Ah, Dorothy, perfect timing. If you would be so kind as to keep applying pressure to Ray's leg while I get the needed supplies. Ms Lovejoy, though you are a guest would you be willing to help Ms Dorothy with keeping Ray seated." The tone Norman used would brook no arguments from either of the two. "Wonderful. I'll be back shortly, and we can hear the tale from the both of you."

"Sorry I'm so pathetic Dorothy." Ray was continuing to pale. It wasn't a small injury to be sure, but it's not like she had been cut to the bone either. Still, it must have cut a number of vessels for Ray to be bleeding as much as she was. Maybe she did need to go to the hospital. She was going to need a blood transfusion if this kept up.

"This isn't your fault." Dorothy was doing as Norman instructed and applied _plenty_ of pressure to Rays leg. Ray suspected she rather enjoyed having a logical reason to cause Ray discomfort.

Angel just stood at the end of the bench, not sure what she should do. Norman returned before long, and started to inquire as to what had transpired while getting Ray her local anesthetic shots and rinsing the gash out with rather stinging astringents.

"I was following a lead about the killer android hoping to find some memories. But it wasn't an android at all, turned out to be that weird monster that attacked this girl here." Angel pouted and crossed her arms, looking like a child that was being sassy and disappointed for not receiving what she wanted.

"How long did you know it wasn't Instro?" Dorothy was the one speaking now. She didn't look at Angel, avoiding peeking at her altogether. That was shocking enough to Ray, who was well aware of Dorothy's almost pure disdain for Angel.

"Probably a day or so why?" Angel was also shocked by Dorothy's straight forward question, but chose to respond anyway.

"Norman." Ray weakly spoke.

"Yes Ray?" Norman was using some kind of medical tape to keep both half of the wounds close together to make it easier for him to sew her up.

"I'm going to curse up a storm now."

"Oh dear. If you must." Norman was wearing a magnifying monocle, threading the needle to be used in stitching her leg up. '_I would rather she didn't, but screaming in pain has a way of keeping patients alive after such nasty shocks.'_

"YOU MOTHERFUCKING IDIOT! WORTHLESS, IMMIBILICLE, SCUMBAG! HOW COULD YOU NOT GO TO THE POLICE IF YOU HAD INFORMATION THAT WOULD SET INSTRO FREE? YOU WORTHLESS ASSHOLE! GAH!" Norman had pierced her leg with the needle then. Ray placed a pillow over her face and screeched into it, as much from pain as from anger. When she took the pillow off her face, Ray was as dour and expressionless as Dorothy. For most of the rest of the operation, Ray made no noise other than grunts, clenching her teeth and the pillow to her chest to keep quiet. Once Norman was done sewing her up he took the used supplies and left to go wash up and get more antiseptic wash and bandages.

"Are you doing better now that you have that out of your system?" Dorothy was using a cloth and some cold water to clean the blood off Ray's leg, and then cleaned the floor.

"A little, y-yeah." Ray was monotonous. Not that she could've been much more expressive had she wanted to be. Blood loss, exhaustion, pain and pain relief shots had dampened her ability to speak above a whisper at that moment.

"Why were you mad for that androids sake?" Angel had been silent since Ray's outburst, choosing only after the operation was complete to speak. She had done as Norman asked and held down Rays non-injured leg.

"It ain't about Instro. It's about people not doing the right thing. You could've gone to the cops and told them as much, and he'd have been free. Instead you left him to his potential demise."

"But the memories!" Angel was indignant that Ray was still mad at her.

"Are entirely worthless. What's the point of chasing something so freaking worthless to anyone but the original owner? Unless it's some war hero, a novelist or scientist, in which case they'll probably distributive it for free or a small fee to make sure others can gain their knowledge." Ray closed her eyes and tried to calm down. Adrenaline had its uses, but not now that she needed rest. Norman returned during this time and set about the second half of the operation, the clean up.

"But what about physical memories?"

"You ever seen a physical memory?"

"Books, statues?"

"Are history, that ain't a memory. Books allow for the sharing of information, ideas and theories. Statues tell a story about something or someone important, you can't horde it for yourself unless you want to be selfish."

"You wouldn't understand."

"That your stupid for chasing an intangible, unrealistic fantasy? Yeah I guess not." Ray hissed again as Norman started applying some kind of ointment to her leg and bandaging it. "I'm going to pass out now." With that, Ray was out. For once, Rays sleep was not interrupted by nightmares.

"Did she really pass out so quickly?"

"Oh dear. It wasn't exactly quick, but perhaps now she will be able to rest. Ms Dorothy, please take Ray to her room. I will escort Ms Lovejoy out."

"Hey, I didn't get to question her!" Angel stamped her foot down and acted like a child not getting their way, pouting and whining.

"You may return tomorrow afternoon then Ms Lovejoy. I suspect Ms Ray will not be up to answering any inquires you have until she has rested." Norman sounded stern and that let Angel know she had crossed the line. She left without any more complaints.

When Ray woke up the next morning, she found herself in her pj's, in her bed and a rather disgruntled Dorothy being forced to keep an eye on her. It was near impossible for her to put weight on her leg, so Dorothy helped her get a cane so Ray could at least get to and from the bathroom without help.

"Thanks for helping me."

"Can you stay out of trouble now?" Dorothy was definitely frowning, Ray was not seeing things.

"Why do you always act like you don't have emotions when you clearly have them?" Ray was propping her leg up with pillows.

"My range is limited, but it also seems to upset Roger when I display any of them." Dorothy went back to stoicism.

"Well, he's a right louse ain't he?" Ray settled back in the bed and tried to relax. Soon Major Dan Dastun came by and questioned Ray about what happened, and then proceeded to fill her in on what had transpired that night.

The mummy that had attacked Ray the night before had been a cyborg gone mad. He had been in a bad state of mind for forty years, and when he finally woke up to his truth, all he remembered was a list of names given to him to assassinate. Only the cyborg was forty years late for whatever contact he had been given. The men had no real connection, and Ray certainly wasn't like the previous three victims. The three had been men in their fifties, various levels of success and health. The only thing they had in common was that all had been single, which didn't really given any clues as to why they had been targeted.

The cyborg assassin had remembered something before his death and had fallen off a roof, laughing on the way down as he committed suicide. With no other suspects, and the real killer found, Instro was freed and gave Dorothy a lesson at home that day as thanks for Rogers help. Ray listened from her room, reading the books she had bought yesterday. It was relaxing when Dorothy chose not to play her more violent music. Then again, Ray would've loved to hear some heavy metal or metal symphonic. But with a piano alone that would be difficult.

Later that day Angel returned to question Ray.

"You're going to answer me this time you twerp!" Angel burst into her room, waving a fist around and Norman not far behind.

"Ok."

"And no more… Wait did you just agree to me questioning you?" Angel stopped mid tirade and looked stumped. She had plenty of arguments for no, but no response for yes.

"You technically saved me last night." Ray closed her comic and tried to get up. "But you also pointed a gun at me, again. So, what do you want?"

"Tell me where your from."

"South west of the city, a long way away."

"Fine be evasive. But why did I find your name in the automatic assault ships log?" Angel started shouting.

"You found my name where?" Was Ray hearing things? The ghost ship had her name in it's logs?

"In the assault ships logs." Angel looked ill content.

"Show me." Ray grabbed her cane and tried to get up.

"I'll need a computer." Angel protested.

"Roger has one in the study. And I don't think he will object to us using it." In fact he did not, and was curious to see these logs for himself.

Ray had initially been excited to learn that computers were not uncommon in the city. Most libraries had one with their catalogs inside. But unlike the sleek and fast machines of Rays world, they were more like the terminals found in the Fallout franchise. Diode monitors with crystal glass front, green light the only one from the screen instead of vibrant colors. Slow, and with few uses other than email and recording documents. Roger's looked like something out of a steam punk revival aesthetic book. Black stand for the monitor, brass castings and bolts. The keyboard keys were brass circles with matte black finish, the letters etched in bronze. No mouse though, no real use for them yet when no one had graphical user interfaces. Indeed, the computers of Paradigm ran some kind of DOS clone, and still used floppy disks and tapes instead of optical media like what Dorothy's head drive was compatible with. Ray couldn't understand why, but was also immensely saddened by the fact that there was no real internet as she would know it. Sure there was email, but only if you know someone's address. No social media, no news sites, no music. So no real use for poor Ray.

Angel popped the disk in and Roger navigated the system to the floppy drive, mounted the disk and the file opened immediately. The logs listed the coordinates the ship had gone too, and whom had given it the orders, until those orders stopped and it just drifted. The ships automatic recorder had worked until it's destruction, and still listed the coordinates. But then there was something in the record that didn't make sense. A record from a year ago listed a name again and again as having given orders to the ship. _Ray Law!_

"But how? I can't remember ever being on a ship." Ray racked her brain, shifting through the rampart thoughts bouncing in her head. Yet there was no solace to be found there, only panic. No memories of a ship, no memories of arriving in the city. Absolutely nothing.

"If it hadn't been destroyed I might have been able to get more information." Angel gave a pointed look at Roger, rather obvious that she was displeased with how that ordeal had concluded.

"Thank you Angel." Ray was staring at the screen, thousand yard stare returning to her features.

"Huh? Have you lost it? Why are you thanking me?"

"Because this was information I didn't have, and it might have been how I was transported to Paradigm City." Ray hobbled back to her room, she needed time to think. The dim lighting in the hallway made Dorothy's expression that of a frown.

* * *

While Ray was recovering, Instro gave into Mr Giesengs request to fulfill his father's legacy. Sadly there was little Roger could've done to prevent it. After Instro had gained his freedom, Gieseng had redoubled his efforts to get Instro to help with Amadeus's legacy. When Roger went to look into him, Dastun gave him limited info.

"Gieseng is an old German fellow. Word is before Instros maker passed away, he and Gieseng were getting funding from the Paradigm Corporation for some kind of research."

"What were they researching?"

"Don't know, but it seems he might still be experimenting on his own." Roger thanked Dan and headed for the door, "How is Ray doing by the way? She didn't look so good when I was over the other day."

"Better. She's healing up and getting back to working on simple tasks Norman gives her. Did you ever find out more about the assassins targets?"

"Not a thing. Whatever reason they had to die went to the grave with them." With the info Dastun gave him Roger headed to the Speakeasy to ask Big Ear.

"The experiments supposedly had to do with sound waves." Big Ear was talking as if discussing the weather.

"Sounds waves huh?" Roger sipped at his beer and thought for a second, "Have you found anything out about why Ray was targeted by that assassin?"

"Not at all. It's as much as mystery as everything else about the young lady." Big Ear flipped to the next page, "How is she by the way? Healing up alright?"

Roger started laughing nervously, "What's with everyone's concern with Ray anyway?"

"Says the man asking about her."

"I supposed I deserve that." Roger finished his beer and left a stack of bills before heading home, he needed to pick up Dorothy for her lesson.

When they got to the bar, the Amadeus was closed and locked, which was odd. Instro was expecting them. When Roger went to use his key hidden in the pen to unlock the door Dorothy just knocked it down. Superhuman strength had its advantages. The inside was a disaster, sheet music scattered, no lights, dust falling, and the piano! It had a massive gouge in it, insides exposed and ruined.

"Roger, I… Please Roger, you have to save him." Dorothy pleaded with Roger in an octave just above monotone.

"Come on," they went back to the car and headed for Amadeus' house outside the city. While driving to the destination Roger sped along, but sounded amused. "I find it interesting you would make another negotiation request of me, Dorothy."

"Who else would I turn too? You are my employer after all." Even though monotone Roger got the sense of despair in her voice.

"True enough," he laughed. "Ok I'll help Instro, but about my fee?"

"You fee will be paid back by my ability to play more human like." Staring straight ahead, the city passed by the car window.

"Sounds good to me!" They soon arrived at the edge of the forest where Amadeus house was. Roger used the machine guns hidden under the headlights of the Griffin to destroy the "Do Not Enter" signs closing off the road. But they couldn't go much further, snow and tree stumps obscured the way forward, so Roger and Dorothy went on foot to the ruins of the house.

"What the?" The house had a massive chunk missing, and a huge hole was below the part that was still there. Little wonder it had been condemned to rot. "This place looks like a war zone, what happened here?" Roger and Dorothy had made their way through the remains to the upstairs to find an abandoned piano in front of a wall now gone.

"Roger."

"Yeah I know Dorothy." Soon the sound of rubble breaking, machinery whining and earth opening up not far away rung out in the quiet of the snowy forest. "What is that?" A giant robot had appeared not far from the huge ditch in the ground and started walking towards the city.

"Now, enact your father's revenge Instro!" Gieseng yelled at the robot. It had a large cylinder torso, eight arms like that of a spiders legs, small cylinder like legs with ball joints. The head was just a silver ball with two golden fringes on the side like sideburns.

"Instro!" Roger ran after the robot that had appeared. The machine stopped and its head look downward.

"Roger Smith." Instro lowered the robots torso so he could talk to the black clad negotiator. The head slid open to reveal Instro's torso and arms were visible, but his legs and hands had been strapped and bolted into the machine to operate it.

"Instro what are you doing in there?" A hum was heard to Roger's right, and Gieseng was holding some kind of staff.

"Don't interfere!" His gravelly voice shouted.

"That's enough Mr Gieseng. I'll use Constance to finish fathers legacy and destroy Paradigm City." With that the robot stood upright and began walking towards the city.

"Instro stop, you don't have to do this." A subsonic shot hit the trees close to Roger, throwing up dust and debris.

"I'm sorry Roger, I must finish what my father started." Instro sounded sad.

"Now Big O." Roger spoke into his wristwatch, and the mechanical giant known as Big O, but the iron giant again had a hidden passenger. Ray had snuck aboard yet again, and was waiting. "And Action!"

The fight between Instro's Constance and Rogers Big O was rather one sided. Constance subsonic weapon chipped away at Big O, and the noise it made was deafening. Big O couldn't get a move in edgewise, as the attacks kept pushing him back. Constance spread out its eight arms and they vibrated to create the subsonic attacks. But something stopped Instros assault, the sound of a piano playing in the distance. Dorothy's playing had calmed at least one beast.

"Dorothy? Alright Big O now!" Roger used the laser beams in Big O's eyes to cut the arms off Constance, and as one fell on top on Gieseng and crushed him, his subsonic staff making mush of what was left.

Constance cockpit opened, and Roger stepped out to meet him.

"Roger… Thank you, but…" As Instro was about to rip his arms away from his bolted in hands to destroy them, a cane flew past Roger and smacked Instro right in the middle of his forehead, clattering onto the control panels.

""Will not harm myself!" That's what you were gonna say right?" Ray hobbled up to Rogers side, leaning on him for support.

"But I must prevent my body from being misused." Instro started to shout in protest.

"But you musn't Instro." Dorothy popped out of a hidden elevator then, and fished Instro's bow tie out of her pocket, "You must continue my lessons."

"Now stay still and I'll get you out. I borrowed Normans tools, not that he'll be happy with me." Ray hiked a bag onto her shoulder.

"Norman is like to be rather upset with you." Dorothy turned her head to look at Ray, who was pale and shivering in this cold and snowy weather.

"Yeah, but I'm sure he'll understand, but still punish me later." Ray walked to the edge of the cockpit platform. "Hey Big guy, hold up your hand so I can walk over there."

"Hold on Ray I'll get his hand into… HUH!" Big O responded to Rays request, and his hand formed a bridge for Ray to slowly stumble over.

"Now you hold still got it. I gotta get you out." Ray set the bag down and started shifting through the tools inside.

"Why help me? I'm an android after all."

"I got ninety nine problems, you being an android ain't one." Ray gave a wide grin. She had wanted to use that line at some point. She found the right sized wrench and began trying to loosen the bolts, but found it almost impossible. Then a small cold hand gripped the top of hers and began helping. "Thanks Dorothy."

"While I do appreciate the help, I must inform you that I am, well, naked for lack of a better term." Instro sounded embarrassed.

"That's fine. I brought along a towel." Ray gave another mischievous grin.

"You seem awfully prepared." Roger had come over to help free Instro as well.

"First rule of hitchhiking the galaxy, always have a towel." Ray said matter of factually.

"Hitchhiking the what?" Roger just gave Ray a grimace. '_What the hell is she even talking about? She's either crazy or full of someone else's memories. I'm not sure I want to find out.'_

"I find your lack of literary knowledge disappointing." Ray said that in a low and grim voice as she could manage. Instro laughed, for what else could he do at the comedy playing out before him. Soon he was free and wrapped in a towel. His clothes were in the ruins of the house, so he was able to dress, and joined Roger and Dorothy in the car ride home. Ray sat in Big O's command chair and rode him home, not able to walk the length of the forest back to the Griffin. Soon the Big had descended into the Prairie Dog below, and total darkness was Ray's companion in the cockpit until a few red lights began to glow.

"Hey Big O, I have a question for you. Do you know why I'm here?" Ray was half asleep in the chair.

The middle screen came awake and the words CAST IN THE NAME OF GOD: YE NOT flashed at the end.

"I see. So you don't know either. Well, was worth a shot." Soon she was back at the manse, and indeed, Norman was rather upset with Ray for taking his tools and hiding in Big O again, but also understood why she had done it, and would decide her punishments later.

* * *

All's well that ended well. Instro's hands were saved, Dorothy's lessons would continue for the foreseeable future, Angel had gotten some answers for her questions, and Ray some of hers. Roger hoped that he would be allowed more restful sleep now. Yet what had happened before left Ray feeling even more shaken. She truly had no other recourse than to ask something she desperately hoped it wouldn't come to.

"Norman, there's something I want to ask of you." Ray had gotten serious.

* * *

We Have Come to Terms

* * *

AN: From now on it will take a bit longer for chapters to come out. I'm attempting to translate the novel and get that out, as well as working on material from the manga and radio drama. Fear not my various readers. Though it may take me longer between chapters now, I intend to finish this piece eventually. And a real epic it will be, I'm currently estimating about 32 chapters for now. Or more. Hopefully they won't all be super long.


	8. Conjuring letters, six point five

Music: Tsukiyomi theme chiptune variant

This is a two part mini chapter covering two different stories with some world building, so don't skip.

* * *

_**Healing**_

Ray was still mostly in bed. Norman wouldn't let her do a lot of heavy lifting, and she had strained the wound by trying to help Instro, so her punishment was akin to being grounded by the fatherly butler. Therefore, bed rest was most of Rays days this last week.

"Pwah, bored bored bored. I am so bored." Ray flopped back on the pillow and covered her eyes with her arm. She had read all her books, even that novel, and wasn't allowed out to go buy more. She wanted to go to the bookstore, or the mall dome and just walk around. Being cooped up made her stir crazy.

Ray looked at the cane beside her bed, and it struck her then, the cane looked much like a smaller shepherds crook, but also, "It looks like a black conjurers cane from the Final Fantasy game series. Hmm, I wonder if I can cast cure? Nah." Ray rolled over in her bed and tried to rest, but nothing would come of that.

"Ok fine. I guess I'm just bored enough to try it." Ray got out of bed and stood up slowly, walked to the middle of the room, and got into the 'healers stance' from FFXIV. "Ok I move my hands and arms like this, raise the cane above my head and…" She got into the proper position, did all the arm movements, and, "Cu-"

The door swung open and Dorothy was there, holding a tray of food and Ray's medicine.

"-re." Rays voice died out, and both girls stared at each other. The cane was held at arm's length above her lengthwise, so it bisected Ray's face. She went from confident and having fun too embarrassed real quick. But tried to recover by sounding disinterested. "Um, this isn't what it looks like."

"I'll tell Norman you're doing better then," and Dorothy turned to leave.

"No Dorothy wait I need my medicine!" Ray hobbled after the quick walking gynoid.

NO SIDE

* * *

**_It began with a letter_**

The mail came at it's usual time, Norman brought in the letters, but today there was a parcel that needed signing for, by Ms Ray. He had her come down for it.

"Oh, this looks official." Ray sounded mildly excited. "I wonder if my application got approved?"

"Application for what?" Roger peeked out from behind the morning paper, up early for once.

"Citizenship, remember? You're the one who told me to apply." Ray shook her head in disbelief.

"Oh right, well open it up and see then." Ray did as Roger requested and inside were various documents. The long and short of it was that she was approved, had been given a card and her documents stating she could 'legally' work in the city and own property, but something else was in the package.

"Huh, but why would...?" In the package was another sealed letter, from _Gordon Rosewater!_ "Well, I'll read it after breakfast. I don't want Dorothy lecturing me about reading at the table." Ray tried to sound jovial, and Dorothy's eyes narrowed at Ray's thinly veiled insult.

"At least you attempt to be polite." And with that Dorothy chose to ignore Ray for the rest of the day. Not that Ray cared, she had much more pressing issues.

After breakfast and work for the day was done Ray went to her room and opened the letter. It read as follows:

_Dear Ms Law,_

_I humbly request your presence at the main Farming Dome at your earliest convenience. You need not come alone, but you might find it easier to do so. We have much to discuss about your presence in the city, and how many things have changed._

_I will be waiting for you at my farm house,_

_Gordon Rosewater_

A summons, from the 'god of Paradigm' himself. Well, dethroned god or king, or whatever. Point was, he wasn't in charge anymore, but he still knew more than that son of his whom was currently at the helm. Ray put the letter in her pocket and got dressed to leave.

"And where do you think you are going young lady?" Norman was at the door, like he knew her intentions.

"Out."

"You are still in trouble you know." He didn't sound amused with Ray's evasiveness.

"Yes, but when the king summons you, you had best go." Ray showed Norman the envelope the letter had come in, but not the contents.

"Ah, was that what that letter was about then? Very well, please be back at a reasonable hour."

Ray took the bus to the rail station, the rail to the farm dome stop, and wasn't prevented from entering whatsoever! She had thought it would be so much more difficult to get at a previous president. '_Or perhaps my world is simply too violent.'_

Gordon was indeed at his little wooden cabin, rocking away. "Fine weather today isn't it young lady? Then again, life in the domes always has nice weather."

"Un huh, gonna tell me why you called for me?" Ray was almost at the point of collapse, she had left her cane at home like an idiot, and had to walk here without support. She attempted to play it off by putting her hands in her pants pockets, and taking a kind of bored and defiant stance.

"Why, you of course. Come sit, you must be exhausted. Do like like tomato juice?" Ray grauffed at the question. "No, well either way come and put your leg up."

"So, what about me is so interesting you had to summon me here?" Ray sat down on the porch and propped her leg up to alleviate the pressure walking had caused. "Didn't we already discuss it before?"

"I have no idea what you mean, young lady."

"Yeah sure, whatever. Can you get to the point this time? Norman's mad that I left the house when I'm technically grounded."

"Hm, well if you insist. Truth is I feel what I told you before put you in a rough position, and you took the words too critically." He stopped rocking. "When I said that your way home wasn't easy, I did not mean you had no way back at all."

"What?" Ray shouted and stared at the old man as if to melt him, "You… you could've told me that sooner. I've been so depressed over everything."

"Be that as it may, your very existence has changed the world irreparably. There is no going back to before you were here. And furthermore, I am not sure how, or if, you are capable of changing it further. You are a unique existence, unlike another young lady."

"Uh huh, ok I'm not sure I completely followed that, but you're trying to say that if I keep just being here the way things are supposed to be won't?"

"Indeed." The wrinkles around his eyes obscured them somewhat, but Ray got the sense he was staring into her soul.

"So I can warp the story to my needs?" Ray was skeptical, it all sounded like hogwash to her. '_There's not way he's going to let me play goddess.'_

"That would be dangerous and might get you killed. Already the world sees fit to remove you." Gordon looked at Rays hurt leg.

"Ok, so I can change things minimally and get myself out?" She squirmed under his gaze, finally he seemed like the king he used to be, somehow while wearing a farmers getup. _'As I thought, he's not gonna let me do as I please.'_

"That would likely lead you to a path homeward." Smiling at her, Ray finally relaxed.

"Alright, then say I know the dangers, and still make changes anyways, can I use those changes to prevent further attempts on my life?" Ideas were forming, and Ray had a stroke of brilliance. _'Maybe... Just maybe.'_

"That I am not certain, but you may try."

"One last question then. Do you know how I got to Paradigm City? I can't find any leads anywhere I look, as if someone hid them all." Ray was peering out at the wheat field that surrounded the cabin, somehow feeling nostalgic for the fields back home.

"My dear child, if I knew that I would have returned you to whence you came already." Ray felt something akin to existential rage at those words. She felt her face flush red with anger, and took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down. While he couldn't see her face, he understood just why Ray was angry. The person she thought might know something had no answers at all.

"Ok. I'm going to head home, then. This was rather exhausting." Though Ray was tired, she also had renewed vigor. There was a way home, and she could change the story! '_That means I might be able to…' _A wide, malicious grin set upon her features, looking for all the world like a villains madness when all the pieces in a plan came tumbling into place like Tetris blocks. "There's no place like home!"

We Have Come to Terms

* * *

And here I said it would take longer to get chapters out. Well this one got in my head and I had to write it out.


	9. Into Free(dom) - Enter the Dagon

Song for this chapter is Into Free by Dagon, yeah I know, but it's a good song alright/

Thanks to Bionic Star for helping me edit my story so far.

* * *

"Are you sure, Ray? It's quite dangerous?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Norman. If I can't defend myself, something like last time is just gonna happen again. So teach me how to use a gun and fight back." She was a little surprised that he wasn't too keen on the idea of teaching Ray self defense.

"Well… I suppose it couldn't hurt to at least teach you basic close quarters combat." At Norman's words, Ray put her fists up under her chin and looked like a begging child. "Oh fine then, if I must."

"Yes! Thank you, Norman." Ray grinned triumphantly before running back to her room.

"You won't be thanking me when it's over." Norman shook his head in dismay. '_She must not have realized what she's asking for. No matter, she will know soon enough.'_

The next morning Norman woke Ray two hours early, which was akin to torture for Ray. He dragged her into the home gym, but it was more like an actual gym, and started teaching her some basic stances. After that he made her life weights for about half an hour, do sit ups and pull ups on a bar, and further tortured her by making her use a punching bag.

"I'm gonna die." Ray collapsed on the mat in the middle of the floor and panted like the worn out dog she felt like at that moment.

"And we haven't even added the leg exercises yet." Norman had put the kid to shame with his endurance. It had been two hours and he had barely broken a sweat, all while wearing his typical uniform no less!

Ray groaned. '_Geez he's pushing me this hard on the first day. At least let me build up my strength after all the bed rest last week.'_

Norman took a pocket watch out of his waistcoat pocket and checked it. "Well we have been at it for two hours. Let's have breakfast now and after the work is done for the day we can get back to it."

"I have to do more?" Ray couldn't believe it.

"You said you wanted my instruction, did you not?" Norman returned the watch to his pocket and set about cleaning up the used equipment in the gym.

"Yeah, instruction, not death." Ray tried to get off the mat and found her legs like jello. "I need a shower, I stink." Ray weakly, and slowly, mader it back to her room. Showered, dressed and barely able to stand as her legs were still wobbly, Ray made it to breakfast right as Roger was about to start reading his paper.

"What happened to you?" Roger couldn't help being concerned, Ray had nearly been killed a little over two weeks ago and was still recovering, and she looked worn out and ragged today.

"Norman's idea of training." Ray groaned. She hurt in places that hadn't hurt in a long time.

Roger burst out laughing. "Oh no! No one warned you did they?"

"Warned me about what?" Ray was so weak picking up a fork was difficult.

"Norman's idea of training is putting someone through hell to increase their ability to go through more hell. No offense Norman." Roger decided to put the paper aside for now.

"None taken Master Roger. It is as you say, a way to increase endurance to be able to last a battle in hell. I put you through the training when you purchased the mansion years ago, and if Ms Ray wants to learn to defend herself she can buck up or shut up."

"Dorothy help, Norman's gonna kill me." Ray pleaded while sounding pathetic.

"Well then, you won't be my problem anymore will you?" Dorothy continued on drinking her morning cup of tea.

"Heartless rust bucket! What'd I ever do to you?"

"Your existence is an annoyance to me. Also, you did ask for Norman's help, without considering the consequences."

"If you got a problem with the fact that I was born take it up with my parents. I didn't get much say in the matter." Ray sighed. "And it's not like I thought he would put me through hell on the first day." Ray shoved the eggs in her mouth, giving an indignant hmp.

Roger and Norman laughed at their exchange.

* * *

Since learning of her fate some days ago Ray had had to come to grips with the reality of her situation. No matter what she did, for better or worse, the story would inevitably be changed. Therefore, Ray had decided to come up with some rules she would have to follow, mainly to minimize the impact her existence had on the world as a whole, but also to reduce the risk of attempts being made on her life again.

The rules were few, but the list as a whole was as follows:

1\. Attempt to stay on track with the various story threads that had, and will, appear. So far so good.

2\. No major changes could be made to the story by Ray, at least as far as the main cast was concerned, such as telling them future events before they happen. Therefore, the truth would stay as elusive as a flying pig; that is to say, no seen or heard. Again, so far all was going according to plan. So long as no one ever learned of her being born in another world, everything will go fine. Well, Ray hoped at least.

3\. Side characters she had yet to decide how to handle, but preventing them from harm was her best option so far.

4\. Whatever changes were made would either have to deal with Ray directly or come about at her behest, such as asking Norman to teach her to defend herself.

5\. Avoid death! Should be easy enough.

6\. Whenever a Megadeus appears, try and listen to what it says. Ray wanted to know why she heard them, but unless she observed more fights the chances of finding out were minuscule.

7\. Try and get on Dorothy's good side. Regardless of which fate the world took, Ray had a feeling it hinged on Dorothy's continued existence, and the very thought made Ray queasy.

So far, in the last few days she had done her best to follow these, save for getting Dorothy to hate her less. Ray suspected the only way Dorothy would be happy was if Ray ceased to exist in Paradigm altogether. Well, that was Ray's intention, at least at some point. For now, she would just have to keep going in the hopes that some form of answer may yet come to her.

* * *

A few days later, Roger had to go out to deal with fisherman not fishing again. No ghosts this time around, but some kind of fear of an awakened sea titan. The fishermen thought the sea titan was taking revenge for disturbing his slumber, and so the fishermen were waiting for him to return to sleep before going out again.

But in reality it was just creepy dudes in creepy looking amphibian suits scaring fisherman off by attacking them and their ships. Something the creepy beasts were looking for was underwater, and that meant Roger had to find a way down there in order to negotiate with them. But a ship couldn't take him down there, and no one would take him out to the open water for fear of attack. So he needed a vehicle that could take him underwater. Lucky, his sources had told him of an individual who might be building just such a vehicle.

"What'dya want? I ain't buying any, I already told ya that?" A rough spoken man whose face was hidden by a welding mask shouted when Roger tried to get the workers attention.

"You aren't buying what Mr Readerman?" Roger looked up at the man who removed the mask.

"Hm? You ain't a salesman, so what are you here for?" Readerman came down from the boat. He was about a head taller than Roger, slim waisted, but broad and muscled chest, receding black hair that still covered most of his head. Rough around the edges sort of guy.

"I heard you were working on some kind of underwater vehicle, I'm interested in seeing it." Roger spoke to the burly, rough spoken man in a red and white striped shirt.

"Well I ain't selling it!" He seemed indignant and upset at the idea of yet another person bugging him about whatever it was he made, or maybe that was just his attitude in general.

"What about renting it?" Roger took off his sunglasses to get a better view in the darkly lit repair bay. A few fishing vessels were stung up from chains so workman could work on the bottom of the ships, while some iron beams kept the ships in place so men could also work on the decks of the ships too.

"Hm, now that ain't a half bad idea." The man put some coffee out on a moving tool tray of sorts while he set about putting up some tools. "Help yerself."

"Do you not care that the fishermen won't go out and do their jobs? Won't that affect yours?" Roger pushed the tray aside, he wasn't in the mood for games today.

"All I know is working on ships, they take em out or not I'll keep repairing and fixing the damn things, and your interruptions ain't helping me out. So wait there or come back later." Readerman went to put the mask back on but Roger gave him an 'interruption'.

"If possible, I would like to conclude this business quickly." Roger wasn't really in a hurry, but he could sense if he didn't move this fellow along he would take his sweet time showing Roger the goods.

"Fine then." The man, unlocked a different work bay and showed the vehicle to Roger. It was strung up by chains like the other boats, and had some kind of support underneath to keep it from falling. "This is her, real beaut ain't she?" He sounded proud of the as yet unnamed device.

"Is it safe?" The ship was like nothing Roger had seen before, similar in appearance to a brass tube tapered at the ends, with fan based motors on the bottom of either side, and glass half dome windows on the front. A wheel hatch was at the top, but barely visible from below.

"Hell if I know," the man lit his cigarette and sat down in a fold out lawn chair. "My old man was building it before me, when he bit the dust I got his memories and kept on." The man looked at it fondly, "When I finish it, I want to take it to the bottom of the sea and see what I can find. You're as good a guinea pig as I can get."

"I see, well then, guess I'll have to be the test dummy if I want to negotiate with those people scaring the fisherman off." Roger went back home and changed into some casual clothing, and while Dorothy questioned where he would go dressed like that.

"Are you going far this time?" Dorothy was in the doorway to his room watching him put on more casual clothing than his usual attire.

"Not far, but it seems rather far away." Roger pulled out a brown tweed coat from his closet and put it on.

"Nothing but riddles from you." Dorothy sounded displeased with Rogers evasiveness. '_Does he not realize that I have to save him if he gets in trouble? The least Roger could do is tell me honestly what he intends to do,'_

"Tell Norman I won't be needing dinner tonight. Be back when negotiations are concluded Dorothy, see ya Ray." Ray was on the couch too exhausted to do more than wave him goodbye as he went on his latest excursion.

* * *

"Why did it have to be like this?" Roger sighed even as Angel lit a cigarette. "Could you at least not foul up the air in here? It's a miracle we can breathe at all. And there's no telling how long the air will last."

Angel flicked at the lighter furtively, "I can't stand how stale the air is here." Angel took a puff again. "Look I'm really stressed out right now, Negotiator. It's your fault we ended up here anyway?"

"My fault huh?" Roger looked out the window of the now underwater office. Whatever had happened forty years ago had sunk this and many other buildings around it. Whole sections of the city were underwater, supposedly full of memories, but no one knew how to get to them, until recently.

"What are you going to do to get us out of here?" Angel snuffed the cigarette out on the desk she sat on.

"What indeed." Roger thought back to just a few hours ago:

"What do you mean you rented it to someone else? I reserved it!" Roger shouted angrily at Readerman.

"Yeah, but the lady who took it offered me a huge briefcase full of cash on the spot, not like I was gonna turn that down." The man puffed away as he lounged in his foldout chair. "If ya run you'll catch her."

"Huh?" Roger turned around to see Angel waving out him from the open top hatch of the sub, of course he had run off the pier after her.

"Bye bye Roger, mwah," Angel blew a kiss to the confused negotiator.

"Have fun you two." Readerman said between puffs on his cigarette.

"Thanks for finding this for me… hey what are you doing?"Angel ducked into the hatch as Roger had jumped from the pier right into the cockpit as the submersible began to sink. He clambered inside, and shut the hatch while Angel steered it. "What do you think you're doing jumping in here?"

"I have as much right to be here as you do, I rented it first." Roger sounded like an annoyed child too Angel, but really he was a little impressed she managed to keep up with him.

"Well big deal I'm going to… oh!" What the two saw outside the small bubble windows took Angels breath away and silenced the argument. As they sank further down, they saw lights on underwater buildings still lit, buildings still intact as they were left, cars lying the drowned streets. It was like a time capsule had kept everything perfectly like it was, save for all the water. "Amazing. I bet there are so many memories to find down here."

"Probably, but we need to deal with our unexpected company first."

"What?" Someone in a frog looking suit was on the other side of the glass. Their contemporaries had placed bombs all over the sub, with intentions to send the duo to a watery grave. "Ah! We gotta get out of here!" Angel abandoned the driver's seat and tried to open the hatch after the bombs made the sub spring leaks all over.

"Are you crazy? You open that and the water pressure will kill us without suits!" Roger took over the sub and steered it towards something that caught his eye.

"Well what else can we do? I don't want to die in here!" Angel was clearly panicking. While grasping at the wheel of the hatch.

"Hold on!" Roger shouted as he aimed for a set of closed doors, crashing the sub through them and guiding it up some stairs followed then by both of them quickly abandoning ship as water began gushing into the new opening. The two climbed the many flights of stairs to the top of the building, which was still a few leagues under water. Angel complained about it quite a bit.

"Why do we have to take the stairs? I saw an elevator back there." She panted and heaved for air. Her lungs didn't like all this exercise, and neither did the rest of her. '_I should quit smoking, not good for me.'_ The rest of her thoughts were jumbled.

"You want to risk taking a potentially flooded elevator, which hasn't been maintained in forty some odd years, to wherever the top floor is, in hopes that also isn't full of salt water?" Roger just gave Angel an exasperated and annoyed look which he usually saved only for usage with Dorothy or Ray.

"Well when you put it that way…" Angel had finally caught her breath. '_Skin tight jumpsuits are not good for exercise. Maybe I should get another one made.'_

"Come on then, we have a lot of climbing to do." Roger ignored the fallen heavensward's protests as he made his way up.

* * *

While Roger was off on his underwater adventure, things at the house went on as smoothly as could be expected. Norman was panicking at not hearing from Roger, pushing Ray to her absolute limits all the while preparing for an excursion of his own. Dorothy was as calm and collected as always.

Dorothy was practicing at her piano when Norman asked if she would start dinner preparations.

"Even if it is not certain Roger will be back tonight?"Dorothy turned to look at the spiral staircase Norman was descending. He stopped long enough to reply.

"Tonight, or any night, the Master's dinner must be ready when he returns. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm a little busy at the moment." He ran off with a plunger in hand. Later that day when Dorothy was mopping the hallway of the servants quarters, Norman arrived in the elevator, completely lost in thought of the tasks ahead he managed to get muddy boot prints all over the freshly cleaned floor. Dorothy was rather displeased, and set about mopping again.

The door to Ray's room opened, and as she was about to step out Dorothy gave her a stern warning, "Get this floor dirty and you're cleaning it!"

Ray retreated back inside and waited for Dorothy to finish mopping before she went to help make dinner in the kitchen.

The first night Roger didn't come home the three had dinner in silence, Ray too exhausted to talk, Norman worried, and Dorothy not wanting to break it, chose to be quiet and enjoy the rarity this situation presented her. After dinner Ray did more exercises, not waiting for Normans instructions and instead focusing on building her endurance. Retiring to her room some hours later, she decided to take a bath, and fell asleep within.

Not that she was aware of it until a rather unexpected intruder woke her up.

"Ray, wake up. You fell asleep in the tub. Ray!" Dorothy's voice seemed so far away, and yet Ray could feel a cold hand on her arm.

"Mhh? Huh!" Ray awoke with a start. Dorothy was in her bathroom staring down at the half awake victim, and Ray was stark naked. She quickly covered her chest by crossing her arms and her face turned multiple shades of pink. "Ack! Dorothy what are you doing in here? Why didn't you knock?!"

"I did, you did not respond. You weren't in bed at your usual time, so I came to check on you." Ray splashed some water at Dorothy, feeling her face flush red from embarrassment.

"Oh, ok, you pervert. Well I'm awake now, so can you leave?" Ray couldn't believe it. How could this have happened! She was beyond upset, one reason being that Dorothy had seen her in such a compromising way, and another because she had been careful to not do anything too stupid lately. Survival was predicated on not screwing up too much right now, and this was kind of a big screw up.

Dorothy examined Ray very carefully before heading for the bathroom door. "You seem to be more well endowed than that woman."

"I'LL DISMANTLE YOU RUST BUCKET!" Ray yelled in both horror and freaking out. She felt her face changing multiple different colors from the rush of blood.

"That would require the proper tools and knowledge of how to do so." Dorothy shut the door behind her, and Ray just sat there, trying to deal with it all.

The next day, Roger still wasn't back, and Norman was to busy to torture Ray. So Ray went about doing the more basic exercises on her own. Later she joined Dorothy for a non-existent lunch, as Norman was running himself ragged. Ray made some tea for the both of them and something to eat for herself. Norman ran by at one point carrying too much and dropped some of it.

"How men amuse themselves." Dorothy didn't sound amused. Ray started choking on her tea trying and failing not to laugh.

"I don't think he's amusing himself. He's worried sick." Ray was slowly calming down as she cleaned up the tea she managed to spill everywhere.

"Why is it necessary for him to pack all of that? Where is he going?" Dorothy turned her head and looked at Ray.

"Camping in Big O would be my guess?" Ray poured herself more tea.

"That seems illogical." Dorothy almost sounded like she didn't believe Ray. Almost.

"It is, but humans can't always think clearly when they are upset." '_Too bitter, need sugar, lot's of sugar.'_ Ray just continued to fiddle with her tea.

"Is that why you threatened to dismantle me last night?"

"No, that was because you made me rather angry and embarrassed. It wasn't necessary for you to compare my bust to Angels. What in the world possessed you to say that anyways? That was highly inappropriate."

"Oh, so now you care about manners?" Dorothy made as much a disbelieving face as she could manage, which wasn't like her at all.

"What are you, a child? Even I'm not dumb enough to go around comparing sizes with an older woman, Dorothy. Besides, it's not a contest. I don't win anything other than back pain for having a larger bust." Ray felt her face flush a bit, she was getting upset again. '_Calm down, you don't need to be mad. She probably was just trying to annoy you.'_

"Oh." Dorothy sounded disappointed.

"Why in the ever loving hell do you sound disappointed in that? Did you think you actually got something for winning such a crude contest?" Ray raised her voice and octave, and must have looked rather angry because Dorothy turned away.

"I thought one would receive more attention for it."

"Oh Dorothy." Ray couldn't help but feel disheartened for the gynoid. '_Poor thing, doesn't she know? She must, but to think like that, or maybe she doesn't mind that sort of thing. Or maybe she has some futile hope it would win Roger over.'_ "Dorothy, the only attention you get for having a larger bust is not the kind you want." Ray spoke very gently, similar to how she might explain something to a small and upset child.

"I see." Dorothy got up and left. '_It is as I thought. Ray most certainly is hiding something about her past, she hasn't forgotten anything. But I do not think I want to know the reasons for why she has such depressing information.'_

Not long after Dorothy took to her usual perch on the patio railing and watched the clouds go by, lost in thought. About an hour later she would be pulled from her reverie.

"Well then, Ms Dorothy, I'll be taking my leave." When Dorothy looked behind her a comical scene awaited. Norman in his military uniform, various camping supplies at his feet and a gun strapped to his back, goggles and a snorkel attached to his helmet. Ray would have laughed at the strangeness of it all, but Dorothy could only find the situation unamusing.

"I believe I should go instead." Dorothy hopped off the railing and went inside to wait for Roger to call The Big O.

"Oh, yes quite." Norman was disappointed.

Later that day Ray hid in Big O, knowing what she suspected was to come next, she wanted to confirm her theories. Of course, Dorothy would be in the cockpit at the same time, and the gynoid was annoyingly perspective when it came to Ray.

Too much so.

"Why are you here?"

"Hiding from you, why?" Ray tried to sound both sarcastic and nonchalant.

"Norman will be upset you snuck aboard."

"I'll live, most likely." Ray went back to the book she was reading. The world of Paradigm was drab, but the literature was surprising interesting. Many of the popular young adult novels were in steampunk like settings, and had a well written plot and thought out characters. Not that Ray could remember much about them later. It was like reading old penny novels from her time. Many of the same plots and ideas, just different characters and execution.

"What do you hope to accomplish?"

"Want to confirm a few theories I have. Why, does my being here bother you?"

"It might bother Big O." Dorothy took the command seat, which was opposite were Ray was hidden behind the metal column that served as Big O's spine.

"Well considering he let me in, I kind of doubt that." Ray put her book aside, Dorothy wasn't going to let her read apparently.

"How do you know Big O is a he?" Dorothy sounded like she was discussing something as mundane as the weather, but Ray knew better.

"Well… That's actually a good question. He never speaks like the others, and in fact never really talks at all, but he gives off this calm and reassuring presence. You feel it too right?" Ray looked up at the ceiling, which was really the bottom of Big O's head.

"Why is it you are capable of hearing them?"

"I don't know, and Big O doesn't know either."

"Big O answered you?" Dorothy dropped the monotone for a split second and sounded like the very idea that Big O would talk to her of all people was ridiculous.

"In his own way. Big bastard refuses to actually use words though." Ray felt Big O's mood change to less than amused with her. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry, won't call you a big bastard again." Ray felt Big O go back to being indifferent.

"He really does respond to you." After that the two sat in silence, waiting.

* * *

In the old skyscraper underwater, Roger and Angel were having it out.

"I can't believe this. How many memories could there be down here I wonder? And I'm just stuck in this place. Damn it's hot." Angel removed the jumpsuit to reveal black bra and underwear beneath, hiding a good amount of her privates, but it left little to the imagination. Roger noticed the scars on her back.

"Hm, some fallen Angel you are."

"Like I haven't heard that one before. How long are you going to wait to call _**it**_?" Angel was getting impatient with it all. _Just call the Big already would you?_

"Well how long is a beautiful woman like you going to make me wait before throwing yourself into my arms, acting like a damsel waiting for rescue?" Roger was being melodramatic, but it took the topic off of the Big. Angel started laughing.

"Oh so you can say romantic things." She walked towards one of the windows staring out at the world underwater spread out before them. "There must be so many untapped memories out there, just waiting for someone to take them."

"Maybe, but is it worth it? You must have been born somewhere outside the city, no one born inside the city ever really asks those questions." Roger looked up at the ceiling.

"Doesn't it bug you?" Angel raised her voice in frustration. How could Roger not understand, he had a young person who had lost some memories living with him after all.

"Does what bug me?" Roger was getting tired, and he didn't really trust Angel to not start something.

"Not knowing anything about the world forty years ago. Like who our parents parents were, what kind of lives they lived. How can that not upset you?"

"That's just it, for those of us born in the city, we can live in Paradigm City because we've come to accept that as reality. We know that the memories from back then are gone. We don't feel the need to know about what caused the memories to fade away and disappear. And really it's only the elderly whom mourn the loss of those memories. Sure people get them back sometimes, but it's like a curse more than a blessing." Roger looked out the window and saw many different kinds of fish swimming by.

"What about Ray?"

"What about her?" Why was Angel bringing up the girl now? What point did it serve? Roger didn't know.

"She seems to be disturbed about the loss of her memories."

"That's… Probably true. She doesn't seem to be missing very many, but the ones that aren't there cause her pain." Roger grimaced. '_Of course, that's what Angel was hinting at. I've never lost memories so how could I understand the feeling of losing them? Or wanting to remember what I'm missing. But didn't Ray chastise Angel the other day for chasing memories, calling them useless?' _

"Well, maybe.. Huh?" Roger shot up from the couch and ran to the window. Outside and some distance away the amphibian suited individuals were swimming deeper, towards an unnatural light emanating from a tunnel exit.

"What is that?" Angel was upset. "Are they going to wake up the memories?"

"I don't think that light is man made. Ah!" The building rocked from an explosion starting from the light the individuals had been swimming towards but minutes ago, and a body whose helmet came off slammed into the window. Both Roger and Angel gasped in fear and revulsion. It wasn't a pleasant sight.

"We gotta get out of here!" Angel ran to the double doors that enclosed the office.

"Come in Big O," Roger bent over and whispered into the watch communicator.

In the mansion Big O responded by sending the Prairie Dog to it's masters signal. The two occupants felt him move as the lights came to life, and Ray jumped into the half domed cockpit behind the seat, clinging on for dear life as the Prairie Dog crashed through a wall and rode into the deep. She had been thrown around too many times while hiding behind the spinal column for her liking.

While waiting for the Big to come into range, Roger grabbed an old dusty office chair and tossed it at the windows to break them. "Ragh!"

"What are you doing you lunatic!?" Angel protests were quite literally drowned out by sea water. Roger clambered into the cockpit and ordered Big O to grab Angel. He may not like the trouble she caused, but he wasn't going to let her drown. He was a gentleman after all.

"Huh! Dorothy, Ray? What are you two doing here, and where's Norman?" A soaking wet Roger had finally climbed into the cockpit from the various tubing tunnels that made up Big O's innards.

"It was more logical for me to wait, I don't need air." Dorothy did a rather athletic sitting jump from the chair onto a knob to the side of the cockpit and took her seat there.

"I'm just along for the ride." Ray did a less than athletic jump onto the knob on the opposite side.

"Poor Norman, I bet he's so disappointed." Roger took his rightful place in the command seat. "Big O, Action!" The iron giant used his pile drivers to push off the seafloor and propel itself upward.

"A deranged and decryptit Megadeus such as that serves no purpose in this world." On the surface, a less than enthused chairman watched the awakened Megadeus go on a rampage. He watched the seaweed covered monster make its way towards some old run down apartments in the illegal sector. "I'll let it clean up that mess and build some nicer housing out there, it's about time to revitalize that area anyway. Hopefully no one dies to its rampage before the negotiator's Big finishes it off." The chairman picked up the receiver of a black and white rotary phone on the desk next to him.

Dastun was doing his best to try and fight the angered Megadeus when his men got the call to not attack it, and instead evacuate civilians. "You've got to be kidding me? Who would order the howitzer units to do evacuations at a time like this?"

"Head office sir." Said the grunt responding to the Majors questions.

"Seriously, at a time like this? Fine, evacuate as many civilians as possible!" Major Dan Dastun roared into the megaphone he had while also holding onto the tank he rode for dear life.

While Dastun did his best to help the evacuations, Big O resurfaced from the ocean, leaving Angel a little wet and bedraggled on the deck of a ship before walking towards the rampaging Megadeus.

"It's crying? Why?" Roger couldn't believe it, he couldn't hear the words, but the sound of mourning was clear. The cityscape outside the cockpit was dreary, but calm given the circumstances. The cries and thundering footsteps of the two giants were the only sounds to disturb the silence.

"It has lost the master it used to serve." Dorothy stated matter of factly.

"_Why did you leave me? Where are you? Where is my partner?"_ His voice was truly anguished, at least it sounded like that to Ray. "Poor thing, he's really upset."

"Alright it's showtime folks!" Roger shouted as he moved towards the seaweed cover Megadeus.

"Men." Dorothy deadpanned, and sent Ray into a fit of giggles.

Roger aimed Big O's first towards the torso of the opposition, and sent it stumbling backwards with a pile driver. He followed by using the eye lasers to burn away the seaweed and gunk covering the mourning Megadeus. With fire surrounding him, Dagon began to scream.

_"Why do you fight me? You still have your partner, and an android! I have no one. Give me your android! Let me feel whole again."_ Ray shivered. Was every pilot-less Megadeus going to yearn for Dorothy's body? Ray felt creeped out by the thought. The Megadeus under the seaweed was revealed, he looked like an old fairy tale monster. The only thing humanoid was the shape, barely at that. Horns from the rounded hillock head pointed forward with face set to a permanent wicked smile, chubby features such as large rounded arms, the left arm had a hand, the right had an anchor, the shoulders hiding missile launchers. It was a drab grey and faded black. The eyes and teeth gleamed and changed color as he talked. And unlike the archetype, which lacked reason, Dagon was capable of thought and following through with it. He tried to dodge some of Big O's swings.

"Don't you hold back Big O." Roger shouted as he worked the pedals to dodge the rockets from Dagons shoulder units. Down below, in a drainage ditch, Angel was running towards the fight.

"What are you doing? Don't kill it! It still has its memories!" Angel could shout up at Roger all she wanted, he wouldn't hear her over the din of combat. The two were going back and forth, traded missiles for lasers, and lasers for punches.

"I feel sorry for you, losing your master, but that's no excuse to hurt others! The ones who woke you up and tried to steal your memories are your real enemies! I'll send you back to sleep. Now, rest in peace!" With that Roger maneuvered Big O and grabbed Dagons' head, gripped it and ended it with another pile driver to the face, instantly killing Dagon. No longer did he need mourn, for now he would join his master in death.

"No!" Angel shouted as the metallic corpse fell to the ground. She fixed Big O, and Roger sitting within an angry glare, before turning around and walking away.

At home that night, Ray received another lecture from Norman, but in the end it was Dorothy that came to her defense.

"Big O let her in."

"Is that so?" Norman looked between Ray standing in front of him, and Dorothy in the doorway to his repair bay office. Finally he sighed, "Who am I to question Big O's judgement. However, next time please let me know before you run off. I was rather worried when you were nowhere to be found."

"Yes, Norman. Sorry I made you upset." Ray felt awful, she hadn't meant to scare him.

"With that out of the way, I believe Master Roger is waiting for you in the library."

"At this time of night?" Ray sighed, "oh well, better see what he wants." Ray walked the few flights of stairs to the floor with the library. Ray knocked on the door.

"Come in," Roger was at his desk in his robe freshly washed and typing away at his computer. "I'm just finishing this report."

"Is there a reason you wanted to see me this late?" Ray sat down in the plush velvet chair on the opposite side of the desk. She felt terribly anxious, he hadn't asked to talk to her this late in a while, and last time it had been more of the same about her missing memories.

"Yes, ok now that the report is typed and saved," Roger looked away from the computer and at Ray. He placed his elbows on the desk, steepled his fingers and pierced Ray with an unusually icy glare. "It's time we had a talk about your future here."

Ray glupped, this wasn't like Roger at all, whatever he was about to say, she knew it wasn't gonna end well for her. "Oook."

"When you first moved in roughly six months ago, you mentioned that in a few months that you would save up and leave. I would prefer if you reconsidered that position and instead remained on staff here." He was using his negotiation voice.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Ray asked with an aggravated tone, but dour expression.

"Who do you think is going to kill you?" Roger looked at Ray confused.

Ray pointed an accusatory finger at Dorothy, whom had entered the room with some hot tea during the conversation and was pouring a cup for each of them.

"I won't kill you." Dorothy only mildly objected to the insinuation that she would physically harm Ray. Roger objected to Dorothy adding sugar to his tea, while Ray would have none.

"Fine, make my life a living hell, it's all the same really." Ray shrugged. "Why do you want me to stay? I was under the impression you would be glad that I left."

"Is that so? Well, it's true I wouldn't hear as many cat fights if you left, but wanting you gone isn't exactly how I feel either." Roger rubbed his temples in exasperation and exhaustion. He had been underwater in that tower for too long. "It's come to my attention that there are a few mysteries about you that can't be solved quickly, such as being able to hear a Megadeus when it talks."

Ray narrowed her eyes at Dorothy and gave her a glare as if to say 'I will end you'. Ray hadn't wanted anyone besides Dorothy to know that she could hear them, and in truth she really didn't want Dorothy to know either, but it was far too late for that. Dorothy had learned of this when they encountered the archetype, and there was no going back now.

"Yeah, I can hear them. So what?"

"Most humans can't." Dorothy interjected while cleaning up around the room. Ray guessed she didn't like the fact that Roger was supposed to be alone with Ray for this conversation and found an excuse to inject herself into the room. Ray didn't mind really, it was just Dorothy's way.

"So I've been told. Is that why you want me to stay here?"

"Well, that and a few other reasons. You haven't fully healed yet, although Norman tells me that you have healed exceptionally fast." That was true. The injury from the assassin a little over three weeks ago should still have her bed ridden, or at least in physical therapy. But there was little more than a scar and some muscle soreness left to remind Ray of the incident.

"Well if I'm going to stay on here, can I at least get a pay increase?" Ray asked cheerfully.

"Now wait a minute!" Roger didn't like where this was going.

We Have Come To Terms

* * *

Welp, these are coming along nicely. So for any wondering why I make this version of Alex Rosewater seemingly care about life, I'm going to attempt to blend some of the manga version into the anime version. Aka, someone whom actually does care about those under him, at least as far as keeping them alive for tax dollars goes. I thought it would be fun to portray him as a semi competent sociopath, and not a complete psychopath.


	10. Tag, hobbies, and beating the heat

Welp, more world building yay, no recommended song for this chapter.

* * *

Tag

It was a peaceful day all things considered. Roger had awoken before Dorothy played her favorite alarm tune, breakfast was calm, and Dorothy didn't even get on him about reading the paper at the table for a change. Ray had been awfully quiet however, and kept giving Dorothy a side glance like she was planning something. If that was the worst that happened that day, Roger could live with it.

It wasn't.

A few minutes after settling down at his desk, cup of black coffee in hand, Dorothy burst into the office running at full speed, lept over his desk in a single fluid jump, and hid behind Rogers desk chair; rather easily, considering how small she was.

"Dorothy is there a reason you had to do that?" Well, there went his peaceful day. Dorothy's entrance and jump had startled him, and now coffee was on his white shirt and part of his desk. Thankfully it had missed his computer terminal and keyboard.

"Shh!" She hushed him, while remaining still.

"Dang it, Dorothy… Huff huff, get back here!" Ray ran into the room about a minute later, out of breath. "Don't even bother hiding I know you're behind Roger!"

What occurred next was like something out of a cartoon, Ray ran behind the desk, Dorothy ran in front of it. Ray ran in front, Dorothy behind. They chased each other like that for a good minute before Dorothy leapt over the desk from behind and ran for the door.

"Dang it! Get back here!" Ray ran for the door, and right as she was leaving Norman entered the room, carrying a tray with a pot of fresh coffee and a towel.

"Norman."

"Yes Master Roger?" Norman refilled the cup, and gave Roger the towel to clean himself up.

"What was that?" Roger took the towel, rather absentmindedly and began fussing with the spots on his shirt.

"A game of tag sir."

"A game of tag?" Roger just shook his head in disbelief. "And why are they playing a game of tag? And in the house no less?"

"Ah, well that is for Ms Ray's training. Surprisingly, she has surpassed most of the beginner obstacles I put in place for her."

"That quickly? It hasn't even been a full month." Roger could hardly believe it. He had come from a military police background, and it had taken him at least three.

"Yes sir, I'm as shocked as you. That said, this old man isn't up to most of the later training regimens." He had that typical jovial expression of his. "It seemed quite natural to ask Ms Dorothy to help keep Ms Ray on her toes, and training schedule. They are the same age after all, and perhaps they'll quit fighting as often."

"Or more," Roger sighed. "Well, maybe have them keep it out of my office next time." Roger suggested as he started drinking his coffee.

"Yes sir, now, about my pay for next month."

"Norman…"

NO SIDE

* * *

Hobbies

"I expect the two of you back before dinner. Well then, have a good day." With that, Norman shooed the two girls out the door.

"Why do we need to go shopping together? Wouldn't you be faster?" Ray complained as the two headed for the nearest bus stop. She was wearing a tank top today, it was the beginning of July and it was warm out now.

"Perhaps Norman is attempting to force us to get along again?" Dorothy posited at the bus rolled up, they rode it to the nearest railway station, and took that to the mall dome.

"Maybe, but that hasn't worked before, why would he think it'll work now?" Ray and Dorothy looked over the list Norman had given them. Dorothy could memorize it, so Ray was going to keep the copy they were given. It was divided by who would get what, so there wasn't really a need for only one list. Or to send them together really, but it was divided by shops on each half of the dome. Ray suspected this was to make it quicker to get everything. Not that they were bringing much back. It was mainly to place orders for Big O's repair parts.

"Didn't you get paid yesterday?" Dorothy asked as the train car neared the mall dome.

"Yeah, but I usually just save my money for books, and the used book stores are really cheap. So I've managed to save quite a bit of my pay." Ray had been meaning to save up and move out, but Roger had put the kibosh on that, so all the cash earmarked for that could instead be used as she saw fit. Ray still wasn't sure why he wanted her to stay, but probably it had to do with his love of solving tangible mysteries.

"Maybe Norman wants you to indulge yourself. That list should easily be finished by noon."

"Yeah, maybe. Where should we meet up?"

"Why should we meet up?"

"If I go home without you, or vise versa, Norman is gonna be cross with us."

"Oh." Dorothy spotted a cafe near the station, one her father used to take her to occasionally to teach her how to pass for human. Dorothy pointed to it "What about there?"

"Sure. See ya in a few hours." With that both girls went their separate ways.

They had arrived at the dome by eight thirty that morning, and sure enough Ray was finished with her half of the list by eleven. She headed back towards the cafe and spotted a shop that caught her eye.

"Oh, so shops like this still exist? Wait, of course they do, I just never had half a mind to look." In front of Ray was a little yarn and crafting shop. She checked the communicator watch she had 'borrowed' from Roger. He had a dozen so she didn't think he would notice a single one missing or he didn't care, she'd had it for the past week. "Well, I have a little time, and it's been months since I picked up my needles.'

Ray knew whatever she made had to be black, grey or white. If she got cheeky and tried another color she'd probably get lectured. She found a nice shade of the color grey that she liked, got a pair of needles, and after checking out headed to the cafe. When she got to the cafe Dorothy was sitting at a table out front, being harassed by some hooligans.

"Come on toots, come with us?" This one was a brute, big, muscular and lack witted.

"Yeah, we'll shows ya a great time." This one had a squeaky voice to go with his thin frame and a neon orange mohawk. The annoying type overall.

"Ya won't regret it lass." This one sounded Scottish and looked it, which confused Ray as to why he even rolled with the other two.

"I'm not interested." Dorothy ignored them as best she could and looked straight ahead.

"Now that's no way to…" Ray cut the burly one off.

"What're you guys doing picking on my sister like that?"

"Huh?" The three turned around and Ray was standing very close, holding herself tall and trying to look pissed off. Ray was still a good head shorter than the brute and the Scotsman though.

"Ya deaf? I asked why you were picking on my sister?" Ray made herself sound harsher than normal.

"Your sister? Ya barely look alike?" The squeaky one said.

"Save for the lassies red hair." Stated the Scottish one.

"Yeah, you ain't lying is ya?" The brute tried to sound rowdy, having no effect on Ray.

"Just scram would you? I haven't seen her in a month cause of work, and now you shitheads get in the way." Ray took the chair opposite Dorothy, who was giving Ray a quizzical look. Ray gave her a 'play along' face and smiled. "Show how's life?"

Dorothy picked up right away. "Oh, works boring like usual. My employers a louse, house chores never seem to be done, and I still haven't gotten that raise."

"Oh I'm a louse am I?" Roger came to the rescue, somewhat literally. The Griffin was parked not far from the cafe, and he spied the two when he was about to leave the dome. "What are you two doing here?"

"Getting lunch, or trying to if those three would buzz off." Ray thumb pointed to the three goons, who suddenly realized they had places to be that didn't involve harassing Dorothy.

"Sorry ta bug you two ladies. We'll be leaving now." The brute had seemed to pale, and the three turned tail and ran off.

"What'd you do to those three?" Ray looked over at Roger who sat down with the two of them.

"Oh, just had to negotiate with their boss about keeping his goons under control before Paradigm did something about them. What are you two doing here? Actually getting lunch are you?" Roger gave a half confused and amused expression.

"I suggested meeting here after we finished Normans shopping list." Dorothy was back to her usual dour self.

"Wouldn't it have been faster to just send you Dorothy?" Roger picked up one of the menus that had finally been placed in front of the three of them. "Coffee sounds good right about now."

"Do you ever drink any water?" Ray asked while looking at one as well. Her stomach growled then. "Lunch actually does sound good," she muttered while perusing what was available.

"Occasionally, why?"

"Your kidneys are going to hate you in a few years."

"Ray's right Roger. You should drink more water, and less black coffee."

"Would you two knock it off?" Roger was annoyed. If the two weren't fighting each other they would gang up on him. They had a relaxing lunch out of the home for a change, and Roger drove them home. On the way Dorothy had a question about Rays methods.

"Why did you claim we were sisters Ray?" Dorothy was in the back seat, but Ray could see her in the rear view mirror easily enough.

"Hm? Oh that? It's a common tactic to help out other girls in trouble where I am from. Kind of an unwritten girl rule. Doesn't matter if you've never seen that woman in your life, she comes up to acting like your best friend and is a little panicky you play along and go to a public place with lots of people."

"Is where you're from that unsafe?" Roger asked while avoiding an accident in the middle of the road.

"Well, in many ways Paradigm is a lot safer. Save for the Megadeus fights, we don't have those back home."

"But you claimed we were sisters?"

"Yeah, well, I thought it would make em back off. If I claimed we were friends they might try and rope me in too." Ray scratched the back of her neck kind of nervously. "And we both have red hair, which is uncommon enough people keep commenting on it, so I figured it would work."

"..." Dorothy said nothing and continued to stare at Ray. Ray couldn't tell what she was thinking, but it probably wasn't pleasant.

"So what did you end up buying, Ray?" Roger changed the subject so the cars atmosphere would be less uncomfortable.

"Oh, some yarn and knitting needles."

"You can knit?" Roger wasn't able to comprehend this girl. "You never mentioned that you have such skills."

"Yeah. Well it's not like you ever asked me what technical skills I have. You're just obsessed with finding out where I'm from and why I can't seem to remember how to get back." Ray shrugged, and saw Dorothy frowning in the mirror. "What's wrong, Dorothy?"

"Did Norman ever ask you what you were capable of doing before taking you in?"

"No, now that I think about it, he never did. Just saw the sorry state I was in and offered me a job."

"Guess we'll have to have a long conversation when we get inside then." Roger pulled into the garage, parked the car and the three headed up to the penthouse via the elevator. Ray sat down in one of the lounge chairs while Roger took the other.

"Geez it's getting hot." Ray fanned herself with her hand. You'd think with all the money Roger had he could afford decent AC.

"Yeah." Roger took off his blazer and tie, and even unbuttoned the top of his shirt. "So, now that we know you can knit, what else can you do?"

"Crochet."

"I mean all you technical skills, not just crafting wise."

"Cooking, cleaning, some more basic sewing skills like fixing holes in clothing, and I can use a computer, even built one back home." Though, Ray didn't think she should mention that computers back home would be like a futuristic supercomputer here. Paradigm Corporation used one that was the size of a large room, and it was mainly used for storing and retrieving digital copies of tax documents, had every newspaper written since forty years ago on file and retaining citizen information. Her desktop could do thousands of times what that supercomputer could, and was barely larger than a short stack of shoe boxes.

"Oh, interesting. Think you could repair a robot?" Roger was only half joking.

"Not unless you want Dorothy breaking, or killing me."

"I'm not going to kill you." Dorothy placed down iced water in front of the two of them. "But I also would prefer Norman continued doing my maintenance if I was to be given a choice."

"Hey, I wanted black coffee." Roger whined.

"You had coffee at lunch, and at breakfast. Drink some water Roger." Dorothy wasn't about to let up.

"You two are going to be the end of me. Can't you both get hobbies that don't include torturing me?"

We Have Come to Terms.

* * *

/You're getting the typical beach episode, enjoy.

Beating the Heat

The first full week of July in Paradigm was brutal. _It was never this hot back home._ Ray lamented while trying not to become a puddle from the heat.

Roger was lounging in a patio chair in a t-shirt and light jeans, Dorothy was at her usual perch and usual dress, Norman was dressed down from the heat without his waistcoat and in a thin short sleeved button up, and Ray was in tank top and shorts sitting in a chair trying to read the latest novel she bought. The heat was getting to be too much for the humans in the household.

"Too bad there aren't any swimming pools outside the domes." Ray panted from the heat.

"Why does it need to be outside the domes?" Roger looked up from his newspaper.

"Well, would you consider going to one in the domes?" Ray tilted her head to the left.

"Hrm, actually that's not a half bad idea. With how hot it is swimming might be the best way to cool off. Why don't we all go?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea Master Roger. Shall I get your swimsuit out of storage?"

"Yeah, I'll see if I can't find that pool pass I have." Both men left.

"What possessed you to ask about going to a pool?" Dorothy had leapt off the railing and landed close to Ray.

"I'm not even sure, but it's hot and that should help cool us off." Ray got up and stretched.

"I do not own a bathing suit."

"Pretty sure Roger would buy you one if you asked. I need one too now that I think about it." She headed inside, and behind her Dorothy frowned.

_She really is strange. Oh well, this should be a good opportunity to see what I can learn._ While Ray had long since figured out Roger was probably spying on her, she had somewhat dropped her guard around Dorothy, and this allowed her to pick up on things Ray may not have realized she had admitted to.

Soon the four riders in the Griffin headed to the south east entertainment dome. It was connected to the mall dome by a walkway and railway line, and soon found the pool Roger had passes for.

"I do not have a bathing suit." Dorothy protested as they headed to the indoor pool.

"Neither do I." Ray put her hands behind her had in a relaxed stretched pose.

"Well, lucky for you two there's a swim shop next door." Roger handed Dorothy a credit card, "Just keep it reasonable will you both?"

"Huh? You're going to let me charge something?" Ray didn't look like she believed Roger.

"Dorothy's charging it, I'm just letting you pick out something you actually need."

"Right. Ok then. Come on Dorothy, lets go." She dragged the gynoid off to the shop next door. It didn't take Dorothy long to find something that fit her, but for Ray it took a bit longer. After they made their purchase the two got in with the passes Roger had given them.

"Hey, you actually look really cute in that." Roger commented on Dorothy's one piece bathing suit. It was black of course, but it had a short shirt that was stripped with white, and it accentuated her hourglass figure. He was in regular black swim trunks himself, and without his shirt on he did cut a rather impressive figure, six pack abs, a few scars on his arms and chests from various battles he fought.

"Louse." Dorothy looked away from him. _He thinks it's cute? That's great, but if I let him know I think that..._ Her train of thought was interrupted when Ray came out of the female changing rooms.

"Sorry I made you all wait, it took a while to get changed." Ray came out in a two piece. The top was black with thin teal shoulder straps, and the bottoms black with teal stripes down the side. It wasn't very revealing, as it didn't show cleavage, and the bottoms went up to just below her navel. But it did nothing to hide her mild curves or the fact that Ray had quite a bit up top.

"Oh that looks great on you Ray, maybe we should go swimming more often." He gave a charming smile, but it was the last thing Ray wanted to see.

"Louse." Ray and Dorothy said in unison.

"Ouch, I'm just trying to be nice." Roger grimaced.

"Hm, fancy seeing you here?" Angel appeared behind Roger and pressed her ample chest into his bare back. "Trying to beat the heat as well, negotiator?"

"Well if it isn't the fallen Angel." Roger pulled away and turned around to face her. The two piece pink suit Angel wore left nothing to the imagination, cleavage, curves and long slender legs all on display. _Great, now there's really going to be a cat fight._ "We are trying to beat the heat, but why would you be frequenting a low level place like this?"

Roger had the distinct impression Angel would've rather visited an upscale establishment, with false sun shining down, wait staff to bring you drinks and warm towel holders available. This pool was not that. Just a basic athletic swimming pool with two diving boards, no artificial sun or any of that fancy stuff, just a plain pool that Roger occasionally visited to do water exercises.

"What, I can't visit a pool now?" Angel was being coy.

While the two had their discussion Ray looked at Dorothy and asked quietly, "Do we push her in later?"

"Yes."

"Ok. Well for now let's go swim." Ray headed for the pool stairs.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Ray looked up at Dorothy, she was already a few steps into the water.

"I'm too heavy. And I don't know how to float."

"Seriously?" Ray couldn't believe her ears.

"Seriously."

"Ok fine, guess I'm teaching you how to swim. Or at least not to sink like a rock. Get in." Dorothy did as instructed. Ray wasn't bad at teaching, much to Dorothy's surprise, and she at least learned more basic strokes and how to not sink in low waters.

"You two are getting along I see." Norman came over to them, he wore a black one piece suit. He had been doing some breast strokes on the side of the pool roped off for exercise.

"Yeah if you wanna call it that." Ray spied that Angel was just standing not too far off from the edge of the pool near the diving boards, watching Roger. "I'm going to go try diving now, been a while since I've done that."

Ray got out quickly by a small ladder, made her way over to the boards, and when she was behind Angel she waited until Roger jumped off the board, and Norman was watching him as well, before hockey checking Angel into the pool and kept walking.

"Ah!" Angel made a large, ungraceful splash. In the shallow end of the pool Dorothy watched it all with a small barely perceptible smile on her face.

Ray had clambered up the shorter height board by the time Angel resurfaced. And was about to take a dive when Angel yelled, "You jerk!"

Ray ignored it and jumped. It wasn't graceful, but she cut into the water smoothly and swam back over to the shallow end.

"What's Angel all worked up about," Roger asked as Ray resurfaced not far off.

"No clue." Ray shrugged innocently. She swam the rest of the way to the shallow end and spent the rest of the pool day helping Dorothy master the art of not drowning.

We Have Come to Terms.

* * *

Ahahaha. Bet no one expected that did they? Well, hope you enjoyed this little off chapter, more story content coming later.


	11. Furball

Time for the heartbreak of… well you already know. Song: Heres to the Heartache by Oceanborn

* * *

"What happened here?" Dastun adjusted his cap down while surveying the crime scene.

"The victim was a wealthy jewel dealer, fifty eight years old." The grunt behind Dastun read off the report as the body bag was zipped up at their feet and carted away. It was a mess, blood everywhere, broken glass, table upturned, jewels and jewelry scattered on the floor.

"Did she have any relatives?" Dastun asked while stepping further into the room. As he did, he began accidentally kicking aside some jewels that had fallen on the floor in whatever had caused the mayhem.

"No, but she had a dog, a golden retriever." The grunt stated. On the mantle was a picture of the victim and her dog. Dastun went to pick it up.

"Wow, what a beauty."

"Sir?"

"This dog probably costs more than out annual budget. Any sign of the dog?"

"No sir."

Another grunt burst into the room. He yelled out "Major you need to see this!"

Dastun followed the grunt to the fountain outside, where many spotlights shone on a rotting husk of meat unlike anything Dastun had ever seen. Some of the men poked it with sticks, trying to push the smelling hulk to the other side of the fountain to retrieve it, but it sank below the water.

* * *

Dorothy was walking in the rain, a much needed relief from the summer heat. She went down an alleyway that was rarely frequented, but led to the back door of the mansion. She head something make noise in an alcove full of trash cans. She walked over to it, bent down, and a little grey kitten poked its head out.

"Meow?" Dorothy let go of the umbrella in shock, and quickly picked up the kitten, taking it home.

Ray was sleeping soundly for a change, the rain from the day before cooled the house down, so she was relaxed and having nice dreams. But then the dreams changed, there was something heavy on her chest, and she couldn't move it. Try as she might the weight was too much, and she woke up.

"Uh, wha…?" Ray sleepily opened her eyes, and saw something she didn't expect to see. "Huh?"

On Ray's chest was a little grey ball of… fur? Yes it was fur, and it was breathing, and moving.

"Rawr." The little kitten on her chest yawned. "_That was a good nap. This ladies bed was nice and warm."_ The little kitten got up and stretched. "_I'm hungry, wonder where Dorothy is?"_

"Did you just talk?" Ray looked at the kitten shocked. '_I'm hearing things. I'm hearing things, there's no way that kitten just talked. I need more sleep.'_

"Meow?" "_You can understand me?"_

"Nope, I'm dreaming, cats can't talk." First Megadeus and now this? Ray was beginning to think she was losing her mind.

"Roew!" "_You can understand me! That's so awesome. I'm going to go tell Dorothy." _The kitten sat on her lap and began to clean itself.

"What? Now hold on…"

"Who are you talking to?" Dorothy appeared in the doorway. "Oh, there you are, Pero. Are you hungry?"

"Meow! Raow, purr." "_Yes, can I have some food please? Oh and get this, the other girl here understands me! She can totally hear me too." _Pero jumped off Ray's lap and snuggled Dorothy's legs, threading between them.

"He's rather vocal for a kitten isn't he?" Ray could feel drops of sweat forming on her forehead as she tried to find a way to convince Dorothy she wasn't absolutely crazy.

"We'll talk later." Dorothy picked up the kitten and left, leaving Ray alone to her thoughts and worries.

Later that day, Roger came home from a job to find his desk in shambles. Ink smudges on all the scattered papers, a broken hourglass (Rogers favorite at that!), desk lamp knocked over. It looked like a whirlwind had blown through his office.

"DOROTHY! R DOROTHY WAYNERIGHT!" He ran up the stairs to the lounge. He didn't think Norman would have done something so tactless, and Ray avoided his office like the plague most days. "Where are you?!"

"My goodness Master Roger, what has Ms Dorothy done to cause you to be in such a mood."

"Norman I thought I explained when she moved in there are rules to follow." Roger took on a defiant tone.

"Yes sir, like wearing black," Norman tugged as his coat proudly, but also to adjust it before climbing back down the ladder. He had been replacing light bulbs that had gone out in the wall fixtures.

"That's not it Norman, she knows that she isn't supposed to touch my desk."

"Has she done so Master Roger?"

"She did more than touch it!" Roger sounded irate while he showed Norman the destruction that has occurred. He picked up the broken hourglass that usually adorned the corner of his desk. "Ah man, this hourglass was a work of art. The sand was a beautiful shade of black."

"Oh my, could it be that Pero did this?"

"Huh? Who's Pero?" Norman directed Roger out onto the rooftop patio, where Dorothy was sitting with a small grey kitten in her lap, and Ray was petting it gently.

"What in the world? What is a kitten doing here? That can't be here, you have to return it." Roger just shook his head. How could this be happening?

"You mean if he was black furred he could stay?" Dorothy scratched the kittens rump, much to his pleasure and he purred all the more for it. Ray smiled, Pero was certainly a cute furball, given the circumstances.

"What no!, Absolutely not. He's someone's pet Dorothy, and you have to give him back."

"I felt it, you know. Clear as day. He wanted to be rescued. He had been left out in the rain." Dorothy gently snuggled the kitten purring in her lap.

"No that can't be, who would abandon a kitten?"

"Allowing me to keep him is merely your own feelings being tested." Dorothy didn't look up, refusing to meet Rogers intense visage.

"Rescued? Affections?" Roger gave a cruel half hearted laugh. "What would an android know about human emotions…" Dorothy got quiet, Pero quit purring, and Ray gave Roger a 'screw off' gaze. "Um, ahem, sorry Dorothy that was uncalled for."

"It's all right, I'm used to it." Dorothy continued to look down at Pero in her lap, slowly stroking the kittens fur.

"You shouldn't be." Ray mumbled.

"Look Dorothy, the point it that he isn't yours. You didn't put that collar on him. Whoever owns him is probably worried sick trying to find him. When they come back for him..."

"Well then negotiate with them." Dorothy stood up abruptly, causing Ray to step back too. Dorothy had nearly headbutted her, not that that would've stopped Dorothy.

"Huh?"

"One of your job descriptions, Mr. Negotiator!" Dorothy ran back into the mansion with Pero, leaving a confused Roger in her wake.

"Man, you sure like digging your own grave don't ya?" Ray shoved her hands in her pockets and leaned back agaist the pillar behind her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roger was getting angry, Ray didn't care. She had waited long enough to say this to him.

"It means your a complete ass when it comes to Dorothy's feelings you moron." Roger frowned at Ray's assault, but she wasn't done yet, "Seriously what is wrong with you? You never get on the other androids about having emotions, and that aside she's eighteen. Dorothys been through hell and back, takes care of _your _lazy ass, helps Norman, and just about everything else in the house. Yet for some inexplicable reason, you just love to point out she's not human. You really freaking piss me off you know that?"

"I never get on the other androids for having…? Ah. Oh… Oh!" Roger got it, and it hit him like a ton of bricks. "I… Well I guess I have been rather rude to her recently."

"Recently?"

"Ok, for a while! You happy now?" Roger shouted and Ray took a step back into the pillar. "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you too."

"It's fine," Ray sighed. "Look just, don't be so much of a jerk to her ok? I'm gonna go check on her."

"Since when did you two start getting along? I was under the impression your hatred was mutual." Roger crossed his arms and gave Ray a look mixed of concern and curiosity.

"I don't hate her, and I never have. Honestly at this point I have no idea why she hates me." Ray gave another sigh. "Well, maybe hate is the wrong word, she certainly doesn't like me though." Ray went back inside to find Dorothy in her room, cuddling the little cat.

"You ok?" Ray asked after knocking on the door frame. The door was open, so it wasn't like she had too.

"No."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Care if I stay with you for a while then?"

"No." Dorothy was more monotonous than normal. Was Ray imagining it, or was she depressed? Ray sat down on the bed next to Dorothy, not saying anything. The two sat there, just enjoying the purrs Pero gave off from all the attention he was getting.

"Do you believe me when I told Roger I could hear him?" Dorothy spoke first, and her voice was low, barely discernible over the din of city life below.

"The furball spoke to me this morning. What do you think?" in the light it looked like Dorothy had a sad half smile.

"Are you sure you aren't going insane Ray?"

"If I am, you're going insane with me, no two ways about it." Ray smiled. When the two weren't fighting and got along, life could be pretty nice.

* * *

The next two weeks were actually rather blissful. Pero made Dorothy seem to come out of her shell. She would love on and shower affection on the kitten. Pero would nuzzle her legs, or face, or beg to be held. He would paw at her hands while she played piano, followed her around while she did her chores. Dorothy would hum a little tune for him while he napped in her lap. And, most importantly to Ray and Roger alike, Pero woke them up without the need of a piano beating.

"_Morning Ray! Get up I wanna play!"_ Ray heard Pero meows loudly while sitting on her chest.

"Let me sleep some more Pero." Ray whined while covering her head with the pillows, "I was up late."

"_What were you doing? Did you have another nightmare?"_ Pero pawed at her head under the pillows with concern.

"No I was knitting something."

"_Oh can I play with the yarn? Where is it?"_ Pero jumped off the bed, excited to find a new toy.

"Do it and I hog tie you to the piano." Ray peeked out and gave Pero a 'you had best not' expression on her half awake face.

"Pero, it's time for breakfast. Ray you need to get up too." Dorothy was in her room to pick up the kitten. "What were you doing in here?"

"_I wanna play with Ray. She said she has yarn, where is it?"_

"Boy he sure is excited this morning," Yawned Ray as she got out of bed and started getting her clothes out.

"He's going to a piano lesson with me later today."

"Oh, is that so? You plan on yowling along with the piano, little guy?"

Pero ran up to her and threaded her legs meowing enthusiastically, "_You bet!"_

Breakfast went by rather quickly, as did the chores, and when it came time for her piano lesson Pero was put into a little tuxedo with a bow. Ray decided to tag along, as there was a bookshop on the way, and now that Dorothy didn't blatantly beat the piano her playing was rather soothing.

"Ugh, it's so hot today." Ray fanned herself with her hand. It was mid July now, and the weather was hot. Most days Ray wore her typical uniform that Norman had provided: v-cut t-shirt, slacks, woolen socks and work boots. With how hot it was, Ray had changed to a tank top when not working, thinner styled loose jeans, and cotton low cut socks and running shoes. All in black, of course.

Dorothy looked over at her, "Perhaps you should wear even less?"

"Ah ha, very funny. How are you not burning up in that?"

"I do not suffer from temperature changes the same ways humans do."

"You must have a really nice cooling systems then."

"Better than a humans at any rate."

"Sure, throw some cheap shots my way." The heat really was oppressive. It was almost 100 today, and Ray was sweating bullets for a different reason. "At least Instro's place will be cool."

Except it most certainly was not.

"I apologize Ray, the AC went out this morning, a repairman will be here tomorrow." Instro tried to make the human comfortable by offering Ray ice water so she wouldn't overheat.

"It's fine Instro, thanks for the water." Ray sat at the bar reading the newest novel she had bought. Dorothy's calm playing, a book and a drink; while she couldn't admit it openly, this was an amazing anxiety relief method for Ray, as it allowed her to forget the reality of her situation, if only for a while. Pero was at her feet, napping away. This would be something Ray sorely missed before too much longer.

Ray had felt it when walking to Instro's, and again when she and Dorothy headed home. _Someone is following us._ Sure enough, not long after arriving home, a few guests wanted to meet with Roger.

"Master Roger, a Mr and Mrs Ferry would like to meet with you." The office was dark while Roger worked on weighing out sand for a new hourglass. The darkness made Norman appear ominous.

"Tell them I am busy, Norman." Roger was busy getting the precise milliliters measurement of sand to make the new hourglass flow at exactly one hour, while having different shades of sand. Making hourglasses was one of his few hobbies.

"It's concerning Pero, sir. They claim to be his rightful owners."

"I see. Show them in then." Roger put his jacket back on. _Darn, it's hot, should've gone with a thinner jacket today. _After the Ferrys' had been shown in, it was less a negotiation like Dorothy had requested and more of a railroading attempt. "So, what can I do for you two today?"

"We would like the kitten you have in your possession returned to us." Louise Ferry stated with much haste.

"Is there any way I could convince you to allow the kitten to continue staying here? The girls who are caring for it have gotten rather attached." Roger wasn't sure why, but these two were on edge. It's not like Roger could refuse to return the cat if it was legally theirs, they would easily win in a court case if it came to that. And of course Roger would prefer avoiding such a thing. So why did he get the sense that these two would bolt at the smallest possible change in situation?

"It's not possible Mr Smith. That kitten is ours." Rick Ferry was getting worked up and upset that Roger hadn't immediately handed over Pero.

"So what you're saying is it isn't a matter of money?"

"Of course not!" Rick Ferry was starting to shout.

"Mr Smith?" Louise Ferry directed Rogers attention off her husbands rude behavior for a bit.

"Hm?"

"Let's say it wasn't a kitten, but a child. Would you be so reticent in handing him over if that was the case?"

"Oh, I see." Roger got up from the couch he was on, "Norman where is…?"

"Ms Dorothy and Ms Ray are on the patio sir."

"I see. Well Mr and Mrs Ferry, if you would please follow me." Roger led them up to the lounge, and went out onto the patio to speak with Dorothy himself.

"Ahem, um Dorothy, Pero's real owners are here and well…"

"I didn't know him very long but I'm glad to have met him," Dorothy turned around and started to get up.

"I think it's best you return him personally then." Roger had a sad smile. He would never tell a soul, but he had liked having the kitten around and would miss the little furball.

_Here it comes!_ Ray backed up towards the windows and grabbed the gun she had borrowed from Normans stash in her waist band, she knew it wasn't gonna do much good, but it was nice having it. Right on cue, a strange helicopter came up from below with a maniac grinning madly behind the glass cockpit screen. Pero started caterwauling.

"_We gotta run! Run! That's the man that hurt me, run!"_ Dorothy needed no other convincing then that. From the bottom of the copter a long clawed catching system deployed. It was reminiscent of an older tin robots claw hands. Dorothy turned and ran, but the claw still got her.

"Dorothy!" Roger ran to try and free her, but the table cloth from the patio table covered Roger, he ripped it off and caught the long arm of the claw. The madman running the copter sent it, and Roger, into a marble pillar. Roger let go just in time to drop and roll onto the stone below, but had to run to avoid the machine gun fire that was erupting from the machine gun attached to the bottom of the craft.

"Agh!" Roger jumped off the side of the building, used his watches grappling hook to catch the railing and pulled himself back up.

"That was Eugene, but what is he doing here?" Rick Ferry asked while watching the carnage play out, and soon he was the next victim. A scream rang out from the roof, and Roger pulled himself up that much faster.

"Oh no!" When Roger got back up Norman had a gatling gun.

"Please step back madam," Norman pushed Mrs Ferry back as he one handed the gatling gun and tried to damage the craft. But the madman known as Eugune used Dorothy as a shield, forcing him to stop. He aimed the gun at Norman and Mrs Ferry fell to the stone, Norman shielded her as best he could.

In all this confusion Ray had tried to hide and avoid the hail of bullets from both sides. But now that it was slowing down, she made a rather foolish move. _Fuck this is fucking stupid, what the hell am I even doing?_ Ray slinked around the fountain, using it as cover, aimed very carefully and took a single shot at where she suspected the fuel tank was.

_CRACK!_ The gunshot of the small .38 rang out, and found its mark. Fuel began leaking out, but not before Eugune shot the remaining Ferry. Sadly, Ray's efforts to stop the carnage would be for naught.

"Eugene, give me back my boy, please! Please give me back Roy." Louise Ferry got up despite Normans protests, walked towards the craft and lifted her hands to the kitten still in Dorothy's tight grasp. Her response was a rain of fire, and she went limp on the concrete patio.

"_Mom! Dad! NOOOOOO!"_ Pero cried as he and Dorothy were whisked away by the helicopter.

"Grr, ugh." Roger looked like he was about to cry, but sucked it up. He put the two corpses next to each other and gave a quick prayer "Norman."

"Yes sir, please leave the arrangements to me."

"I have to go get Dorothy now."

"Roger," Ray slowly made her way over to the two men. She had a thousand yard stare, but worse, unlike Roger who had sucked it up, Ray was actually crying, tears streaming down her contorted facial features. "Roger bring Dorothy back safe, and Pero too if you can manage it."

"Yeah, I'll try." With that Roger made a beeline to the Speakeasy to meet with Big Ear. Back at home, Norman called the military police. Dastun came personally knowing that Roger was unlikely to trust anyone else to investigate his house. Really, at that point, Major Dastun just called for the coroner, and a few crime techs he trusted. They snapped pics, questioned the 'witnesses' Norman and Ray, and had the bodies carted away in under two hours. The crime was still ongoing, and Dorothy had yet again been kidnapped, but somehow Dastun felt it best to leave that to Roger. After that he stayed behind to talk with Ray.

"You doing ok, kid?" Dan took off his hat and sat down in a chair next to Ray.

"No." Ray had stopped crying, but still looked as if she was staring into another dimension.

"What's buggin you, besides the obvious?"

"What isn't?" Norman brought some tea for Ray, and alcohol for Dastun, even though he was still on duty he had his own driver, so he could occasionally indulge himself. "I just saw two people brutally murdered in front of me, my friend got kidnapped by a madman, and I'm scared of what comes next."

"What do you mean what comes next?" Dastun paid even closer attention to Ray now. Roger had told him she had a lot of inconsistencies in how she dealt with the world around her, like she wasn't a part of it. And unlike other foreigners, she wasn't afraid to admit it. Roger stated that "_It's like Ray's from another world sometimes."_

Oh how true that was. While this was true, mind you, but only four people in the world knew, and only one was in the room at present.

* * *

In a dark cell lit only by a few red led's, Dorothy was handcuffed and left to wait. Her captor had her thrown in the hole, then took Pero at gun point from her but an hour before.

"_Put me down!"_ Pero had tried to bite the kidnappers, but the thick clothing the underlings were wearing made it impossible. The underlings took the kitten away, cuffed Dorothy and forced her into a cell that went down, not behind bars, so there was no easily available method Dorothy could use immediately to escape. Up above, the sounds of an animal in pain could be heard.

"Pero is crying." Dorothy observed as she looked up at the opening. A man peered down into the opening, his voice grated on Dorothy's few nerves, sing songy and high pitched, full of himself the captor cajoled away. He had long, wavy grey hair, pale complexion, teeth yellowed from lack of care, long upturned pointed nose. And on his left cheek three hexagonal cells adorned his face under his eye.

"Oh what a pretty doll, almost human!" He signaled for his underlings to bring Dorothy up. He led her away to his 'office'.

"All of creation, just from a few proteins!" He gloated and continued on as Dorothy was led down a series of rooms at gunpoint. The cell rooms had more cells like hers, a hallway full of samples and specimens with scientific names she didn't recognize, a water tower like room were he stopped on the bridge to turn around and lecture at Dorothy. "And it only took the memories of dead scientists to come into my possession to make it possible. All of creation under my thumb, I can make anything I want!"

"I'm not interested." Dorothy deadpanned at her as yet unnamed captor. _He's really annoying. Roger please get me and Pero out of this! I'd even welcome Rays rescue attempts at this point. He sounds crazier than Ray's nightmares._

"Hmp, well a doll is just a doll after all." He continued on lecturing about all the terrible things he could and did do. Finally ending in his office, the captor sat down and dismissed his henchmen. Dorothy stood silent, the light in the room made a reflection on the floor that made it appear Dorothy was positioned on a cross, ready for crucifixion. It fit the disgusting monologue the man gave as he continued! "Yes, all of creation under my thumb. I Eugene Grant can become god. Not not become God!" He stood up abruptly and threw his hands wide, "I am! I am the creator, I am the new God of this world!"

Dorothy refused to engage; you don't keep a captive alive to kill them after all, so she had no reason to play along. He flipped a switch on the console behind him, and the tubes that ringed the dark lit room in a grotesque semblance of a choir lit up, showing the ghastly creatures within. Twisted amalgamations no longer in their original form, but worse yet, the voices...

"_Help me!"_

"_I don't want to die!"_

"_I wish for an end, the pain! Please end me!"_

So many voices. All crying out for their suffering to be put to an end. Dorothy could only stare aghast at the scene around her. She was suddenly glad Ray wasn't here, it would cause her to have a mental breakdown.

"Humans. All of these are humans!" She tried to block out the voices and focus, but there were so many, it was overwhelming.

"Indeed." Eugene walked over to a tube and petted it affectionately as the creature within shrieked in unheard pain, smacking its skull against the glass tube. "Oh but don't assume I'm happy with these experimental specimens, these are just failed samples I keep alive for more tests and splicing experiments."

"Pero was made this way too?"

"Oh that little grey kitten?" He cackled insanely. Then he walked over to Dorothy. "Oh my poor baby! Please give me back my baby." He pantomimed begging and praying. "Poor Louise, all she could do was beg. Her little boy with those beautiful crystal blue eyes! He made such a lovely specimen, and I just had to teach the parents a lesson that there is no escape from the new god of this world!" Eugene grabbed Dorothy's shoulders and shook her with a grave expression.

"Oh, but don't you worry girl. I have special plans for you!" He pushed her away and laughed maniacally.

Dorothy would've ended his monologuing then and there, no longer considering him human, but for all his madness he was also smart enough to take proper security measures. He handcuffed her with electromagnetic cuffs, used to arrest misbehaving androids. So she could only wait.

* * *

A long black car resembling a classic Cadillac pulled up in front of the Speakeasy, a black clad man got out of the car, pressed a button on the key fob and the car armored itself.

"I'm in a hurry, so cut the chit chat." Roger threw down the bills ahead of time.

"This isn't like you, what's the hurry?" Big Ear peered out from behind the newspaper.

"I need information on a man named Eugune."

"Do you mean the infamous Eugene Grant?" Big Ear put the paper down, grabbing his whiskey instead. "Roger what have you gotten yourself into?"

"That's what I'm asking you for. I need to know what I'm getting myself into." Roger crossed his arms, being impatient as he was.

"Do you remember the incident in East Town almost a month ago?" Big Ear started at his whiskey.

"Yeah, rich lady was supposedly murdered by her pet dog. What about it?"

"That was Eugene Grants doing. Grant is a scientist, word is he created that dog, and he's learned something that even has Paradigm scared of him." Big Ear took a sip.

"What did he learn?" Roger tried to keep a steely gaze, but it was difficult with professional curiosity got involved.

"The key to life itself. He learned how to manipulate proteins to create the seeds necessary to bring back extinct animal species. But then his experiments took a gruesome turn and Paradigm cut off his funding. Now he holds up in an old abandoned Natural History museum on the edge of the ruins. Says he'll make himself into a god. I'd be careful if I were you and avoid the place altogether."

"Thanks for the warning. I'd best hurry to save Dorothy." Roger got up and headed for the door.

"Some day you'll listen to the warnings I give you Roger, and the young people of this city will learn that the sun will never rise again." Big Ear finished his whiskey and used the cash Roger left to order another.

Roger found the Natural History museum pretty quickly, and hopped out of his car to carefully navigate the rubble on foot. "You could at least thank me for showing you the way Ms.?"

"I told you to call me Angel, geez do you have memory issues?" Angel followed Roger to the museum. "But still, didn't think you would come here alone."

"Well, you do tend to use a number of aliases, and with you following me I'm not exactly alone now am I? I need to save Dorothy, and Ray wanted me to try and bring Pero home too."

"Well that's unlikely. Eugene holed up here are after Paradigm cut his funding." Angel turned on a flashlight as they entered the run down museum, and the two navigated the derelict exhibits that had been left to rot after the calamity.

"What exactly did he do to scare them so?" Roger pried open an elevator shaft door and the two descended the cables to an underground level.

"Human experimentation. The Ferry's son was used to create that kitten you had, in retaliation for his parents coming to their senses and leaving his cult." Angel stated as the two emerged a few floors below the ground level. Angel checked a map she had, and Roger came to a distressing realization.

"That's why? Dorothy said she could sense Pero was in need. So…" An alarm started going off.

"Oops. Sorry." A red laser was visible at ankle level. A few of the henchmen appeared in the hallway and started taking shots at the two intruders. Angel took a few shots, but was ineffective. Angel tossed the gun to Roger. "Here."

"It goes against my principles, but I guess I don't have much of a choice." Roger peeked out from behind the partition he had been using for cover, shot the gas and various liquid pipelines overhead and created a smoke screen, then ran to knock out the henchmen bent over from coughing fits.

"So you won't shoot anyone? Even if you're in danger?" Angel took the gun back.

"Not if I can help it. Let's move." The two descended a staircase towards the lab below.

In the control room of the lab, Eugene and Dorothy watched the two creep further into the lab."Oh my, looks like we have a few uninvited guests. How rude, guess I'll have to send the guard dog after them."

_Hurry Roger, I'm not sure how much longer I can go before I try to snap this monsters neck._

Roger and Angel were in the water tower, discussing how to deal with Eugene when the water underneath started vibrating, and some long, fleshy objects shot up and lashed at the bridge, destroying it. The two started running from the tentacles attacking them, when the head of the beast popped up to screech at them. It destroyed the section of walkway they were on, and sent the two down to the water.

"AHHH!" Both Roger and Angel yelled out. Roger used his grappling hook in his watch to secure him to a section of not damaged bridge after he caught Angel midair and passing out after hitting the water. "Man, this Angel is nothing but trouble. Norman?"

"Yes sir, it has been sent to your location." Normans face appeared on the watch screen before disconnecting.

"Great." Roger pulled them back onto the walkway and called it. "Big O!"

The creature was looking for them. It was strange to say the least. The head was cat like in shape, the eyes were bright yellow and slitted, it had spiky gray fur, the whole body was gray too. The back looked like a toad back ready to hatch eggs, and tentacles came out the sides. The stomach had a second mouth with fangs sticking out. It's legs were spindly, barely anything other than bone and sinew, and didn't look like they could support its body. It had two tails that swished back and forth, and looked like matted fur tongues.

Rogers watch beeped, and he smiled, "Hey big guy!"

The creature looked his way, the eyes narrowed further, and the creature lunged at the negotiator and the sleeping Angel. And ran right into an iron giant.

"Big O, Showtime!" Roger shouted as he began the activation sequence.

"Oh dear, what a mess they'll make of the lab." Eugene pulled a pistol on Dorothy, "Move doll, we're going topside."

In Big O's cockpit, Roger was a little surprised Ray wasn't there. But he had little time to reflect on the reasons for that. The monster in front of him commanded all his attention. Roger maneuvered and grabbed the spindly shoulders of the creature, pushing it back and out of the water tower. It screamed in pain. Soon the two were outside, Roger trying to avoid or rip the tentacles off as they wrapped around Big O.

"I don't like your idea of playing rough." Roger grunted while working the controls. How did this creature regrow the tentacles so quickly? Finally it snagged Big O, and had him right where it wanted the Big. The fanged mouth on the stomach snapped and snarled at Big O, trying to get closer than the Megadeus arms length Roger had it at. "I'm not some tasty snack you can munch on either."

Roger sent off a missile volley and forced the beast to disengage. Then Roger had the Big grab a shoulder and rendered it particularly from the body, forcing the creature to screech in pain yet again. He followed with a laser barrage and seared off the tentacles coming at him, cauterizing the flesh and they didn't grow back again.

"Now then, let's finish you off!" In the background the museum was on fire, the dark of night made the battle seem to go on so much longer than it had. Roger wound up for a pile driver finish, when a voice yelled out at him.

"Roger don't!"

"Huh? Dorothy?" In the screen on the left Roger could see Dorothy being held captive on the ruined ground below.

"Roger Smith don't do it! Pero's in there and his soul is in there too!" Dorothy knew Big O would pick up her voice and Roger would hear her. The two giants stopped taking swings at each other and Roger was forced to look at the beast in front of him.

"That's Pero? What the hell did that madman do to him?" Roger could only stare in horror at what had been a beloved kitten earlier that day.

The madman cackled yet again. "Yes that's right. That chimera is my ultimate experiment, my best product!" He laughed while keeping the gun pointed at Dorothy's head. "Any parts I find useful I add to it, and this android will make a lovely addition. Now my fiend, finish that giant off so I can add it to you too!"

Dorothy raised her arms, and begged to the soul she knew was inside, "Pero?"

"Grr," the chimera looked between the Big and it's master, but when Dorothy lifted her hands to it, something reawakened in the beast. It's slitted pupils widened in recognition of the girl standing at its feet below.

"Hey, why aren't you listening? It couldn't be this machine could it?" Eugene let go of Dorothy and took a step back, aiming at her head. "Why you, I'll destroy you! Huh?" Pero lashed out at the madman grasping him in a tentacle that had managed to regenerate, knocking Dorothy over in the process.

"Hey no stop!" Eugene shot at it furtively, and soon Pero snapped his spine, neck and swallowed the remains. He meowed after, and stroked Dorothy's cheek with the tentacle. She clasped it in her small white hands.

"Pero. You can come with me." His eyes widened, fear and knowledge of what he was haunted him. The many souls and minds fused into a single being. He knew his place, it was not at this young woman's side, it was in the fires of hell that raged behind him in the abandoned museum, to be erased from the world. He pulled away and walked towards it.

"Pero!" Dorothy got up to chase him, but Big O's hand stopped her, picked her up to watch the beast consign itself to his fate. He looked back briefly.

"_Goodbye, and thank you for taking care of me."_ He walked into the fires then the building collapsing after him, and the fire department could be heard in the distance.

"Dammit, I couldn't retrieve anything." Angel jumped from the rubble pile to her motorcycle that had been knocked over in the battle, and rode off.

Dorothy stood there in silence as it began to rain, covering every inch of her in water. She couldn't cry, but the rain helped. Roger pulled Dorothy into the cockpit and used some tools to free her, tossing the handcuffs to the side and holding the young girl close. Soon they were in the Griffin heading home. The Big arrived home before them, but when Roger and Dorothy got home Ray and Norman waited by the door.

"Ray I'm sorry... hm?" Ray had run past Roger and was wrapping a towel around Dorothy's soaked body. She them pulled Dorothy into a hug, and Dorothy didn't resist.

"Ray, why are you crying?" Dorothy's voice was almost mute it was so low.

"Because you can't." She held Dorothy close for a while sobbing, and neither bothered to pull away for a time.

"So those two can get along," Roger mussed as he got into the elevator.

"Sir, while you were out I had glass repair men replace the windows, also Major Dan Dastun is waiting for you in your office." Norman took Rogers tie and Blazer after he slipped them off.

"I see, thanks Norman." He headed to his office after the elevator doors opened to the living quarters level. "So, whats on your mind, Dan?"

"It's about Ray. You were right about her."

"How so?" Roger walked over to his liquor cabinet, he needed a drink after today.

"Some of the things she says don't always add up. You mentioned she knows how to build a computer right?"

"Yeah?"

"Only people who work for the head office are supposed to know how to do that in this city." Dan put down his drink. "And she kept fretting about Dorothy, like she knew that kitten wasn't coming back."

"Hm… That's true. It's like she knew the second we got home Pero was gone. As to why she knows how to build a computer, if she knew before she came here, she probably doesn't realize how valuable of a skill that makes her."

"That's just it, the head office would probably kidnap her and force her into working for them if they knew. Only those who inherit memories know how to build them. And from what Ray said earlier, she probably knows how to build something more advanced than the home computers the head office sells after making better ones." Dan picked up his glass and drained it. "Listen, just keep an eye on her, and make her keep her mouth shut, you never know who's listening." He replaced his cap on his head and headed for the door.

"Right, thanks for the warning." With that Dastun left and Roger had much to think about.

A few days later, Dorothy was sitting on the concrete railing, Roger standing not far away. She was humming the tune she would hum for Pero.

"Roger, who do you think this song belongs too?"

"Well, it doesn't belong to anyone, you should just try and savor the memories you have with Pero for as long as you can."

"Thank you, Roger." Dorothy slid from the railing and ran inside.

* * *

We Have Come to Terms

* * *

Oh boy, now we're slowly started to unravel a few points of the mystery, while adding to the hill of the climax. Also this is techincally a half way point for the first season, I didn't know if I would make it this far, but now I want to finish it all, but it's going to take a while.


	12. Setting up reality

Two fun little minisodes setting up some interesting concepts that will be explored further in chapter 9 onwards.

* * *

Setting up the let down

She was right, Mr Beck wasn't gonna be able to get out of prison with the two goofballs being his underlings. Oh, they weren't stupid so much as inept at sweet talking. But everyone thought Dove was gay, and T-Bone lacked brains.

Actually Dove was very much straight, but his ghastly white face and greenish black hair didn't fix that effeminate way he had. T-Bone was well, T-Bone. He loved food more than talking.

But her! She knew how to get Mr B out of prison, and after the coded letter he sent her. It was gonna happen, all she had to do was mosey up to the people Mr B referred to in his letters, and get the goods out of em. She was excited.

"Ok boys, now just do what Mista B told us an' all goes according to plan!" She thrust her fist in the air excitedly. This woman was young, blonde, and love pink fur coats.

"You got it, Yume!" The boys chimed in together.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

Dealing with Reality

Ray had been having a rough week, well, more like a difficult time mourning. Ray had made great strides in getting along with Dorothy, but since Pero's death, Dorothy had been withdrawn. Ray knew it was just her way of mourning, but she felt terrible. No matter how she tried to engage, Dorothy would just walk away or hide in her room.

In other words, Ray couldn't cheer up the crestfallen gynoid.

"Hey Ray, I want to talk to you for a minute." Roger knocked on her bedroom door. He had skipped the jackets and slacks today, wearing a black t shirt and jeans to avoid overheating at the end of July.

"Ok, about what?"

"Well, come to my office and you'll see." Ray followed Roger to his office, and on the desk she saw something rather unexpected.

"Is that a...?" She let the question hang, letting Roger choose how he would go about explaining this situation.

"Yeah," he sighed and rubbed his temples before continuing, "I just finished negotiating for a couple, getting their precious cat back, and they paid me with that." He pointed to the small cat carrier on his desk.

Inside, the occupant moved around, but said nothing.

"Is it ok if I open the cage?"

"Yeah sure, but don't let it escape." Roger watched as Ray carefully opened the cage and backed off. "Hey didn't I just say…?"

"It's scared, if I stick my hands in it'll claw me. So I'm letting it come out on it's own terms." Ray watched as the kitten emerged. It wasn't a Russian Blue like Pero had been, but a Tuxedo with unique coloring. Instead of being black and white, it was black and grey, maybe only a few months old. _Hm… In the Japanese only epilogue manga Roger did get paid with a kitten for negotiating the return of someones breeder cat, and Dorothy instantly took too it, maybe this is that cat, but it looked like Pero right? Well, we'll find out if this is one of those experiments or not._

"Come 'ere little guy." Ray beckoned to the small kitten. Slowly it moved to her hand she had outstretched, sniffed her hand, and started rubbing against her hand purring like an engine. "Well aren't you just a cutey. So what do you plan to do with it?"

Roger scratched at his chin and seemed conflicted. "Well, I wanted to give it to Dorothy, but Pero passed away only a week ago, and I'm not sure we should keep this one, given that it could be another one of that madman's creations."

"Meow!" The kitten protested its lack of attention loudly. _But there was no voice! It's not an experiment, then that means._

"So if it's not an experimental kitten you're going to give it to Dorothy?" Ray looked at Roger rather expectantly.

"Well, I'm not sure I should…"

YOINK! Ray had to kitten in her arms and was halfway to the door before Roger even had time to react.

"...as it could just make her more depressed. Hey get back here Ray!" He shouted as he tried to follow her.

The self defense practice, and having played tag with Dorothy a few days a week, had radically improved Rays stamina. She skipped the elevator, knowing Roger would catch her if she waited for it, and took the stairs two at a time rushing up them. By the time she had run up the two floors to the servants quarters, Roger was barely up the first few stairs. She burst through the door, ran straight to Dorothy's room, didn't bother knocking on the half open door, just kicked it in.

"Ray what are you…?" Before a rather internally startled Dorothy could finish the sentence, Ray had dumped the kitten into her lap.

"Roger got the kitten for completing a negotiation and he didn't know if he should give it to you because he's a wuss and doesn't understand your feelings but he really wanted you to have it, ok bye." Ray spat that all out in one breath, turned and ran for the door. As she was coming from Dorothy's room Roger was finally up the stairs.

"Get back here Ray!" Roger shouted as he ran after her.

Not that he would catch her, she ran up the spiral stairs to the kitchen, dashed through the door, ran to the sink and washed her hands, threw on an apron, grabbed a vegetable peeler and sat down in the chair across from Norman and helped him tackle his mountain of vegetables he wanted to make into canned veggies. All before the door swung shut behind her.

"Dear me, Ms Ray, what seems to be the rush?" Norman asked as he one good eye widen in surprise at Rays sudden interest in helping him can vegetables.

"Ray where are you? When I get ahold of you!" Roger ran past the kitchen to the second spiral staircase to the lounge.

"Ah, that would be it I presume?" Ray nodded affirmation while looking a little worn out and panicky.

"Damn it Ray!" Roger burst into the kitchen a few minutes later. "What did you do, where's that kitten?"

"Roger." A small feminine voice spoke from behind him, he turned around to see Dorothy holding the kitten, which had become rather affectionate with her in the few minutes she had it in her possession. "Did you really mean to give me this kitten like Ray said?"

"Huh? Um, yes! Yes I did, I just didn't know when the best time would be is all." Roger acted all confident and gave one of his charming smiles. "You had just seemed rather upset, and I didn't want to make it worse by giving you a new kitten out of the blue."

"Oh Roger, thank you." She held the kitten closer, and it purred even louder for the attention. "Does it have a name yet?"

"No, it's probably best if you name it."

Dorothy looked down at the little purring furball in her arms and thought for a second. "Robin. His name is Robin."

Behind the two Ray and Norman smiled and nodded. All's well that ends well.

We Have Come To Terms

* * *

Cute right? You'll see more of the characters I mentioned soon enough. I've been writing this story two plus chapters at a time, so some of the thins reviewers have mentioned I was likely already addressing. I'm writing nine and ten right now for example. And hope to have the Christmas episode out at least by New Years, being realistic here.

Ok are you ready for a translation rant? Well here goes. So in the manga, as some of you know, Beck has a girlfriend, but in the English version she's never given a name. In fact, T-bone and Dove aren't given names in the manga either, unless you read the Japanese only two length epilogue manga Lost Memories. Problem? In the manga T-bone is named Tom, and Dove is named Kun which is a diminutive for boy (he didn't get off easy did he?), but what about the girlfriend? What's her name? Well, it can be translated as Yam, and seeing as this isn't Dragon Ball I wasn't about to keep her name based on food. So I changed it a little, to Yume (which is a real name). I didn't think people would mind that change too much.

By the way, in Lost Memories it gives an explanation as to what happened between volumes 5 and 6 of the manga, and I'm a little sad it was never officially translated. But it probably had to do a lot with copyright and licensing issues (did you know Red Lobster is advertised in the Japanese manga? Not even subtle it's just there as part of the background).


	13. Beck Comes Back Kind of

A series of chapters related to everyone's favorite goofballs. Going to mix the manga and anime canons a lot in these chapters. If you don't think of the Benny Hill theme when it comes to the three stooges then you are wrong.

* * *

It was a rainy night in Paradigm, it was absolutely downpouring, and one could barely see in front of their face from the curtain of rain. Yet the unmistakable footsteps of an iron giant could be heard over the drumming of the rainfall on the pavement and stones of Rikers Island prison.

"Geez, couldn't they have done this with a little more style?" A young man only a few years younger than Roger at most complained. He had golden blonde hair with a swirl on his forehead, his beard was the same color, but looked a bit unkempt, the prison pinstripe outfit perfectly suited the man's criminal past. Jason Beck, the so called criminal mastermind and leader of an unruly outfit of misfit thieves, laid out on a crappy prison mattress, waiting for his underlings to break him free. It didn't take much longer.

"Ah, that one's the boss's cell!" T-Bone shouted with excitement, "Let's get that wall down, Dove!"

"You got it." Dove maneuvered the mech's arms and knocked the wall down, and held out its hand to let the boss board.

"No way, it can't be!" One guard shouted in fear.

"It's not possible." Said a second.

"It's… The black Megadeus!" A third yelled as he dodged debris from the falling wall.

"Ahaha! So long suckers!" Beck yelled and waved from the black hand holding him. He sneered at the prison guards below and said, "No one's ever going to trust the black Megadeus or crowboy when I'm done!"

* * *

The day was trying. First Roger had become upset with Dorothy for giving him sugar and milk in his coffee (he knew only black coffee was bad for him, not like he cared for his own health), had further been enraged by Dorothy cleaning his hourglass collection (it needed dusting), and then yelled at her for telling the truth on the phone.

"Roger, there's a Mister Wise on the phone for you." Dorothy stated after answering his telephone.

"Tell them I'm not here?" He waved dismissively while doing paperwork.

"He says he's not here. Please call back later." Dorothy hung up the receiver.

"R DOROTHY WAYNERIGHT! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Roger shouted. Dorothy couldn't understand why Roger was angry.

"What do you mean? I simply did as instructed?" Dorothy turned towards him.

"You weren't supposed to tell them I said that!" Roger shouted, he had taken it down a notch.

"You didn't tell me not to, and I am incapable of lying Roger Smith." She took a bit of a sassy tone.

"That isn't all you've done today! You put sugar in my coffee again!" He pointed a finger into her jabot.

"You need sugars, only black coffee isn't good for you." Dorothy took a step back, she didn't like being poked like that.

"And you touched my hourglasses."

"They needed cleaning."

Roger sighed. "Sorry Dorothy, I know you can't help it, but I do wish you would try and act a little more human at times. Maybe be kinder to others and try to understand how others feel." Dorothy could only give Roger a sharp glare before she left to do the shopping.

Dorothy was walking home after going out shopping, it was a calm and sunny day, which was a complete difference from the morning. Ray had been sulking since Pero's demise and crying a lot. Dorothy couldn't understand it, but Ray explained she mourned in her own way and it was fine. Even with Robin around, not everything had been put back to the way it was before. And Roger was more testy than ever.

She was lost in thought when she ran into a young man; he was lying on the sidewalk, stomach growling and roaring and trying to sell his art. He looked sickly pale, wearing a black beret, black long coat, black boots and slacks. He would have fit in well at the mansion, following Rogers clothing rules to a T. He had long blonde hair that was straight, but a little grungy from lack of cleaning and potential homelessness, not that Dorothy had ever seen a homeless person dressed in such a manner.

"Ugh." He moaned. There was a lot of art on the sidewalk, but none of it was selling. The man did have flair, but lacked some talent. For some reason Dorothy felt sorry for the young man, and offered him a baguette from her shopping basket.

"Would you like some bread?" Dorothy held out a baguette to the man. From the man's perspective, the young woman offering him food appeared as an angel.

"Huh? Oh food! Thank you!" He snatched the bread from her hands and munched at it greedily, he even took the second baguette when done with the first.

"That's all I have," Seeing him start to choke, Dorothy offered him the smallest bottle of wine she had been sent to purchase, which he eagerly gulped down. After having only bread and wine, the man was a tad bit drunk.

"Ah! Food and wine, it's been so long." The young man smiled, cheeks bright red, "You're so kind, you have no idea who I am but still… You wonderful girl you! Say why don't you sit with me awhile?"

Dorothy sat with him and listened to the man go on about his artworks. She didn't really understand it, but the young man was happy to have someone to talk to, and he had a much more pleasant attitude than the home atmosphere. Dorothy's internal clock told her she needed to leave, and she got up to go.

"Oh, are you leaving? Well stop by here again sometime! I sell my art most days on this corner." He had sobered up a bit by then, the red cheeks from alcohol now pink and lively.

When Dorothy got home, she gave the grocery basket to Norman, who noticed the bread and wine missing. "Dorothy, where are the bread and wine?"

"I gave them to a destitute artist in dire need of a meal." She stated calmly.

"You gave all our bread and wine to a destitute young artist?"

"Yes."

"Hm, I see. While charity is commendable, please make sure to replace what you give away, as those were intended to be part of the meal tonight." That was the end of Norman's lecture as he had to return to cooking.

"It's rare for Norman to lecture you." Ray prodded as Dorothy left the kitchen and Robin threaded himself through her legs.

"You needn't comment on it." Dorothy seemed in a bad mood, so Ray backed off.

"Geez, having a bad day?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Anything I can do to make it better?" Ray was a little shocked at Dorothy's blatant honesty, as usually she chose to avoid speaking to Ray.

"No." Dorothy picked up a purring Robin and held him close. The rest of the day wasn't so bad, but she still wanted to be left alone for the most part. Dorothy ran into the young man again a few days later, again in dire need of a meal. He really did seem to frequent the sidewalk of the neighborhood Dorothy had walked through that day to avoid going home early.

"Oh, it's you again!" The young artist waved at Dorothy as she walked by. "My name's Allen, thanks for feeding me the other day."

"I'm Dorothy Wayneright."

"Hey want to chat a bit?" The man wasn't bent over hungry today despite his gaunt appearance, and seemed a tad bit more lively and less drunk, but it was obvious he hadn't eaten much since their last encounter. Dorothy let him talk a while, excited about his art as he was. After chatting a bit he invited her to his studio where he painted most of his work.

The studio was in a rather more than typical rundown section of town. Most of the apartment buildings close by had been abandoned after the event, or left to rot because they weren't worth the repair costs. Most had sold or Do Not Enter signs on them. The young man's apartment was the only one not entirely run down. Works of art lined the walls, or sat in stacks against the walls and up the stairs, but the back wall was empty.

"This is my studio, it might be run down and dingy, but since all the other tenants moved out I have the whole building to myself, which is ideal. And my rent is almost nothing." Allen waved his arms with a flourish to show all the paintings had religious or angelic figures on them. "These are all my works, fabulous aren't they? Sadly I haven't sold any."

"That is irrelevant, you should do as you want." Dorothy was rather more deadpan than normal, but it was unusual for someone to be so passionate in a non-violent way, at least in her experience.

"That's my belief as well." He smiled then. He was an unusual human to say the least.

"Why isn't anything on the back wall?" Dorothy was curious, the young man had painted every corner of the building but this one.

"Oh! That's where I plan to paint my masterpiece." He gestured towards it with over dramatic flare. "And you, Dorothy, would you please play the role of my muse? Huh?"

Dorothy's neck servos whirred as she looked up at Allen.

"Oh, you're not human? Well of course not, that's what makes you so amazing." Dorothy couldn't recall someone calling her amazing for being an android and not getting kidnapped after, but Allen held no malice, likely he didn't even know how to be. Dorothy was confused by the man's question, but felt no reason to refuse. After that day Dorothy met him at the apartment building, helping the young man with his swansong. Roger eventually took interest in what Dorothy was doing out all day.

"Oh, so that's where you've been, I was curious what kept you out so much." It was evening at the time, so Roger was in a robe and having some tea for a change. He didn't mind Dorothy having a friend or a hobby outside the house, but she hadn't told him much since their fight a week ago. He also hoped having a friend other than Ray would somehow bring out some of Dorothy's humanity.

"Well, so long as he treats you kindly I have no objections." Norman thought perhaps Dorothy's new artistic friend was more of a romantic interest, of course that wasn't true either.

"Wait, you can make friends?" Ray's sarcasm had to ruin it.

* * *

As Dorothy was dealing with her charismatic and unruly artistic friend, Dastun paid a visit to Roger to give him a warning.

"What are you doing here this late Dastun, it can't be for reminiscing could it?" Roger walked into his office. He had been about to retire for the night when Norman told him Dastun had come by.

"Sadly not this time. I thought you should know that Beck broke out of prison." Dastun was looking through the wine in the cabinet, seeing if he could find something he wanted to drink.

"Beck? Who is that again?" Roger really couldn't remember who Dastun was talking about for the life of him.

"The man whose henchman killed Dr Wayneright." Dastun stood up and adjusted his cap.

"Oh. Oh right that low life!" The memories of the blonde crook came back like a fast wave of nightmares to Roger. It could be said it was entirely Beck's fault that Dorothy lived with him now as a ward, and not with her father. "How'd he manage to escape? Rikers Island isn't exactly easy to get to or from."

"That's the thing. The black Megadeus broke him out." Dastun leaned against the desk and started rubbing the lattice work of scars on his head.

"It what?" Was Roger hearing that right? Big O had broken a criminal out of jail? No that wasn't possible. It would make noise leaving the house and Norman would have informed him, so then… "Are you sure it was the black Megadeus Dastun?"

"No mistaking it I fear. One of the guardsmen got this in the photo." Dastun handed him a black and white photo clearly showing what looked like the Big O holding Beck in his hand. But Roger knew better. "Seeing as he has a history with you and Ms Wayneright, I thought it best to warn you."

"_They think that's Big O? It barely even resembles him."_ Then again, Roger knew the Big O, he was his partner in battle after all. But Dastun wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"I see. Thanks for telling me, anything else I can do for you?" Roger would need to come up with a plan of action later, but for now there wasn't much he could do.

"Yeah, you still have that wine I wanted to try last time but didn't have time."

"Oh, that got finished off with a friend last week." Roger had actually completely forgotten to save some for Dastun to try. '_Oops, well I can offer him something else rare I'm sure.'_

"What? Fine, well I still need a drink, what else you got?" He was going to need that stiff drink.

* * *

From then the next week or so had gone by without too many issues, the house was calm, Dorothy and Ray had found some compromise without much fighting, and life was good. Well, Dorothy wasn't around much to pick a fight with Ray, and Ray was enjoying the peace this allowed her. Not that it was going to stay that way much longer.

"No way, it can't be, can it?" Major Dan Dastun couldn't believe his eyes.

"Sir, there's no mistaking it!" The scared lieutenant said while watching an utterly unpredictable scene playing out in front of dozens of similarly disbelieving citizens, cops and city workers.

"Is the black Megadeus… Is he really robbing that bank?" Dastun couldn't take his eyes off what was, until that moment, the city's usual protector. He got back to his senses and started shouting orders, "Take him out! A criminal is a criminal, no matter who they are. Make it pay and get those printing plates back!"

Though his men did their best, it wasn't enough and the black Megadeus got away. The next day the black Megadeus was seen making even more of a ruckus and destroying properties outside the dome that were known to be held by the head office. Popping its face into a theater full of terrified paterons, stealing from banks, even just stamping on cars.

"My word, the newspapers seem to think the Big O is rampaging around town." Norman was bringing Roger his afternoon coffee in his office. Dorothy was cleaning the shelves in the office, and Roger had brought Ray in to discuss a new contract that would include better pay and more detailed living expenses for when she had to file taxes.

"Well, it's not like Big O is actually doing any of those things." Roger took a sip before Dorothy could add sugar.

"Roger, why won't you do something about it?" Dorothy asked.

"Well I don't have a client asking me to do anything about the fake." Roger was making notes on the new contract.

"Can you not take cases for yourself as an interested party?" Ray was also making notes on the contract.

"Sadly it doesn't work that way." Roger took another sip while jotting some math down. "It really isn't cheap having two teenagers under your roof."

Two days later the fake Big O struck again, destroying a cruise ship ment for the obscenely wealthy to travel south of Paradigm for a year, and the day after that it was back to robbing banks, but this time it had demands as it ran from the bank that it had ransacked.

"Bring the black clad negotiator next time! Refuse and it will end badly for you!" A cackling voice called out from a speaker hidden somewhere on the robot. The pilots inside lost it to their own little schemes.

"Ain't no way he'll be there if he's really the dominus of the black Megadeus!" Beck cackled in his command chair, T-bone and Dove laughed too.

"We got 'im for sure boss." T-bone said in his rough voice.

"No one will trust the Megadeus or the negotiator again, it's brilliant!" Dove rang in.

"Oh course it is! I came up with it!" Beck sounded so proud of himself.

They got back to their hideout, where Yume was waiting, and counting out the money as Beck had asked her.

"Hey there toots, what's hanging?" Beck sounded happy and excited to see his little lady. And why not, she had an impressive figure no matter what she wore, unlike a certain other blonde clad in pink.

"Your back Mista B! So what are we doing tonight?" Yume tried to sound coy, but it was obvious what she really wanted. He and Yume decided to be as decadent as they felt like being that night. Beck took her out on the town to a lavish dinner, shopping and even had a bath together when they got back. Of course, it was spoiled by said other pink clad lady.

"Aha! Life is great, ain't it!" Yume shouted while giving her man a scrub down, but also trying to block his view of the bitch that broke in. This was her time with Mista B, and this bitch had the gall to interrupt them. So while Yume tried to act friendly, she was anything but.

"Well you two can keep having a ball if you want. I only wanted to make sure Beck kept up his end of the bargain." Angel looked like she was enjoying the show, but had no desire to be a part of it.

"So you really are a woman?" Beck was scanning the woman head to toe, nothing would escape his gaze, and not just for illicit material. He could tell, this was no ordinary woman, and she had a past.

"I am indeed. Now then, I'm sure you're aware this isn't a social visit."

"We can make it one."

"I'd rather not." Angel feigned politeness, really she was turned off by Becks creepiness.

"Well, no matter. I just wanted to know why you'd bother to help break someone like me out of the slammer in the first place." Beck grinned menacingly.

"Oh, my benefactors thought someone with your _particular talents _would be quite useful in procuring what we want is all." Angel seemed to have a bit of a wistful air about her then.

"You got nothing to worry there Angel. I'll get those memories hidden in banks and vaults for you, and you keep getting me info on those I can rip off and strong arm. Though I have to wonder which benefactor of yours wants them." He took a sip of the expensive champagne he had bought for Yume and his little personal time earlier and he did the evil little giggle. His wet hair covered half his face, but one eye got a good look at Angels goods, in the pink leather she did cut an impressive figure, and he did love messing with bad girls once in a while. "You sure you don't wanna join us? There's enough room in here for one more."

Yume was clearly jealous and clung to Beck tighter and Angel got the hint, she wasn't about to pick a cat fight with Yume anyways. Angel turned around and waved at the two before departing, "Sorry, I'll have to pass, I've got appearances and appointments to keep after all."

Angel hopped on her souped up cycle she had been working on since the museum disaster, and shredded rubber to get to her next appointment. This was one she should not miss, as her contacts from the homeland would be at a fancy upper class restaurant meeting with _him_ after all. And as _his_ secretary, and a double agent, she had to be there no matter what.

* * *

The last few days had been a whirlwind of annoyances for Roger. Something that looked like Big O had been causing trouble in Paradigm: robbing banks, terrorizing citizens, destroying cruise ships along with Paradigm Corp owned properties. Today would be the final straw.

"Norman, I'm going to need a little help today." Roger was of course irate. Whoever created and was piloting that fake Big O had specifically requested his presence. Time to bring them down with some tricks and traps of his own.

"Of course, Master Roger. What can I do to be of service?" Norman appeared in his office with afternoon coffee.

The two ladies of the house had more or less been excluded from the meeting, but neither really minded all that much: to them, Robin was more entertaining and a much needed cute distraction from the day. Ray was using a feather on a sting to play with Robin, while Dorothy practiced a new song on the piano.

"You think Roger will finally catch whatever is impersonating Big O?" Ray asked absent mindedly while twitching the string for Robin to pounce on.

"I hope so, he's been rather… What's the word you would use? Pissy? These last few days." Ray laughed at Dorothy's attempt to use more crude language.

"Well look at you, actually using foul language correctly. Didn't think I'd see that." Rays laughter jerked the feather around and annoyed little Robin.

"You are a bad influence." Dorothy did not bother to even look away from the keys she was tapping away on, "And even though you have promised Norman not to teach me anything new on the subject of unladylike behaviors, I seem to find my vocabulary expanding on the topics of foul verbiage usage and insults."

"No arguing that." Ray laughed again, and Robin pounced on her. "Ouch, Robin! No claws."

"_That's my cat."_ Dorothy couldn't say it openly, but she rather liked when Robin took out whatever annoyed him on Ray.

In the amusement park dome, a large black lumbering giant resembling a certain Megadeus had appeared, and started making demands.

"Get that black clad negotiator over here or I destroy the dome!" The pilot shouted over the robot's intercom. To show he meant business, the robot fired its laser beam eyes and destroyed an exit people were rushing towards to get away. The explosion was met with screechs, and some minor injuries, but no one was seriously hurt. For now, at least.

"What the hell do I do..? Fine, you! Get Roger Smith down here." Dastun yelled at a grunt running by him, who hurried off to make the call. The police had to stay outside the dome as per the orders of the black Megadeus standing by inside issuing its demands.

Soon the real Megadeus showed up, and the pilot Beck, felt glee. "Now I can destroy him! He can't be in two places at once. I'm exposing you for the fake you are, crowboy!"

The two black giants were similar, but there were some unique differences. For one, and the most obvious, one had a longer neck. Not by much, but enough to be easily noticeable. Additionally, the fake had a speaker system, three people piloting it (not that one could see that from outside), and had a movable mouth. But it's not as if those who weren't familiar with the Megadeus would know better. Certainly, it was obvious to those who knew The Big O, but to the average cop or citizen, no way they would pick up on it.

"Well, how long will you keep me waiting?" Beck yelled out. He knew Roger Smith was inside the black Megadeus, he has known since Roger had used the Big to send him to jail the first time. He wasn't sure whose memories told him that, but he also wanted to confirm it with his own eyes. Beck may have been a criminal, but he was also a bit of a scientist. He figured he could throw Roger Smith under the bus if this plan worked out, and if that failed he had another plan up his sleeve. So he would just wait it out and expose that crowboy one way or another.

"Well, you called for me?" Roger answered.

"What? It's not possible!" Beck yelled into the cockpit, but not the speaker system.

"But boss, he's right there?" T-bone stammered.

"He doesn't have some handsome twin does he?" Dove asked.

"Dove, not now!" Beck yelled at him.

"It really does look like 'im though." Yume had come along for the ride and was standing behind Beck pilot chair.

But it was true, down on the ground below was Roger Smith, his traditional black suit with a black tie bisected by a gray line, black briefcase and sunglasses he used for business. He was tapping his foot impatiently.

"Well, you're the one that called for me? Do you have some demands that need to be met so these innocent bystanders can go, or are you just wasting my time?" Roger yelled at the two giants in front of him.

"Grr. Fine, let's take out the black Megadeus in front of us!" Beck was mad. That bastard crowboy had found a way to foil his perfect plan! But he wasn't getting away scot free if Beck could help it. The fake threw a punch at the real deal, and was met with a broken hand and arm unit for the effort.

"What?" Beck looked confused.

"No way!" T-bone couldn't believe it, they had used the best parts they could get.

"Boss, we need to get outta here!" Dove squealed.

"Not yet we don't. Fire the lasers and missiles!" The three used the necessary controls to do just that, much to the terror of the citizens being held hostage below. The Big O put up its arms to shield the cockpit and neck, then pile drived the center of the mech, forcing the fake black armor to fall off, and reveal an over the top flamboyant golden body underneath. As more of the fake black covering was ripped and shredded in the tussle, more of the ludicrously bright and shiny bot beneath was revealed to those standing watch. It was as if watching a person do costume changes in the midst of conflict.

"Gulp. Ok, now we run." Beck said as he maneuvered to get away, but Big O was faster and delivered a second pile driver to the body and the mechs head fell off. Not that that would stop the genius that was Beck. The head was an escape pod with wheels that rolled away through the hole he had made earlier, and off they went. Sadly even the police couldn't keep up and the escape pod head, and the criminals inside, got away for the time being. But that was enough for Roger.

"Phew, glad that's over." 'Roger' in the cockpit of Big O, looked down at the ground where the other 'Roger' was talking with the military police. "Now no one should be any wiser."

"Well then, I'm heading home, looks like I wasn't even needed here in the first place." 'Roger' put his briefcase in the sidecar of a motorcycle with the license plate that read M*SH, and rode home at a rather fast pace.

Back at home some time later, two Rogers stood in the hallway, and two very confused young women looked at the comical scene with nary a hint of a smile on their faces.

"There's two of them?" Ray glanced between the two visibly confused.

"There's two of them." Dorothy deadpanned while petting a rather gruntled Robin.

"Thanks Norman, it went off without a hitch because of that disguise you wore."

"Think nothing of it Master Roger. It was actually rather fun." One was slightly taller and broader in the shoulders than the other. And that one took off the mask covering his own identity. Underneath was indeed the household manservant, though he seemed a little tired.

"So… you two can just disguise yourself as each other? Why?" Ray looked perplexed at what was occuring in front of her.

"It helps to pull off little stunts like we did earlier at the amusement park dome." Rogers' smug face was a bit more than Ray could handle in her current mental state of constant confusion.

"Moreover, it can be used to create alibis." Norman had started to change coats back into his typical waistcoat and white vest combo.

In his hideout in a warehouse in a particularly rundown and abandoned part of town, the three stooges had their wounds attended to by a young blonde lady in a pink nurses uniform.

"Where the heck did you even get that Yume?" Beck asked as he continued to give a leechours stare towards the young woman who held his fancy.

"Wouldn't you like to know." She finished tending to the young mens wounds and set about cleaning up and bringing them food. "Honestly, what would ya boys do without me?" She pouted at the sorry state the three men had found themselves in after their latest encounter.

"Well, I'll get that out of you tonight." Beck started grinning maliciously, "But for now, it's time to put our other plan into action."

"How're we going to do that boss?" T-Bone asked while holding an ice pack to his face. Some debris had hit him earlier.

"Oh you just leave the planning to me," Beck pulled a revolver out of his jacket, "I got a plan to make sure no one will ever trust ol' crow boy again, and it's going to be a blast." Beck began cackling like a lunatic.

* * *

It was a new day, and another day for the young man to draw and plan out his masterpiece on the wall. Dorothy was helping him as she was wont to do, when three unusual business people interrupted the two.

"Awesome!" Allen exclaimed while holding multiple paintbrushes in his hands, "I have never felt this inspired before. It's all thanks to you Dorothy! When art collectors see this they will have to acknowledge my genius."

"Hello, is Allen the artist present?" A stout and portly man of dark mediterranean skin tone with a small goatee and a black beret on his head asked. His clothing did not match his attitude one bit. The suit he wore was cream colored, with brown loafers, and a large cream colored black fur lined coat, gold chain around his neck and a gold pocket watch partly visible. The two with him didn't really match either. A tall lanky man to his left wore a greenish black beret to match his greenish black hair, but it didn't fit the brown tweed striped suit he wore. The woman with them, on the men's right, was the only one sharply dressed. In a pale pink business suit, tan leggings and pink low heels to match the light pink lipstick and eyeshadow she had on, and a small pink cap to finish the ensemble. Her blonde hair was swirled loosely in the front, with part of it tucked under her cap. Had Dorothy not known better she would have thought the girl was a younger Angel, but despite the fact that her love of pink was evident, it also was not as gaudy or revealing and was much more tasteful.

"Hm, yeah can I help you?" Allen was on top of a ladder and had some paint on his clothing, but he didn't look so out of place for it.

"Yes, we represent the real estate company Beckles and Associates, and were wondering about this building here."

"Oh you guys bought up all the other buildings in the neighbourhood right. Look I'm not interested in moving out, I already told the landlord that."

"Perhaps so, but this building is not likely to stand stable much longer." Somehow the three had changed in almost the blink of an eye, like they had construction gear under those luxurious outfits and were wearing hardhats with lamps fixed in the front center. "Really, it isn't safe. The pillars are cracked, the foundation isn't so good, and the walls are crumbling. This will fall on it's own soon enough."

"Still, I plan to stay here as long as I can." Allen was getting cross.

"You may not be willing to go, but the property's owner is selling, and we are here to inform you that you have a week to move out. Don't take it personally now, it's just business. We'd be willing to help you relocate to a nicer neighborhood if-." Allen cut him off.

"I'm not going anywhere! I plan on completing my masterpiece on that wall!" He gestured enthusiastically with one paintbrush at the wall, "And you goons won't scare me off like you did the rest of the neighborhood. Now get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!"

"Suit yourself, but come next week the walls are coming down, whether or not you're in here. This is your eviction notice!" The portly man spoke with annoyance before leaving and slamming the door behind him.

"Why did you not take the offer? Is it a good idea to be here when the building collapses?" Dorothy was confused by Allen, surely he could paint elsewhere right?

"No way. I'm not leaving! Besides they can't crash a building down on someone, no one would want to pay the wrongful death lawsuit fines for that."

Dorothy conceded that Allen had a point, but didn't think those three were in an honest business either. Something about the three made her mind race. That night she asked Roger about some negotiation tactics for dealing with an unruly client.

"Hm? Do you have a client?" Roger seemed surprised by Dorothy's question.

"Not really, but I am dealing with someone who has difficulty seeing reason." Dorothy didn't really know how to describe this young man's behavior in any other way. Dorothy had tried to help him see reason, but he had just brushed her off. Another apartment? Out of the question, this is where he got his best artistic visions. Take the money and build my own place? They wouldn't give him that much, which Dorothy knew to be true, but she still didn't want him to get hurt.

"Knock him out and drag him outside?" Ray suggested from the couch where she was reading.

"How is that a negotiation tactic?" Roger just shook his head in disbelief at what Ray had said.

"I don't know, but you seem to use Big O for that one quite often." Ray shrugged.

"Now listen here you!"

And another fight started between the two. Dorothy knew she wasn't getting anything else out of them, so she went to ask Norman for advice.

"Norman, how does one deal with an unruly person?"

"Are we talking about Ray, or your young starving artist friend, because those are very different answers." Norman was busy making dinner that night.

"The artist. I've given up on dealing with Ray."

"A shame, that, you two are finally getting along." Norman added the ingredients to his giant soup pot and continued, "Well, that depends on how unreasonable he is being to begin with."

"His apartment building is going to be torn down, and he refuses to leave it, claiming he can only make art there." Dorothy started helping Norman with the cooking.

"Ah I see. Well, there isn't much you can do in that case. No one can be sure how an artist's mind works, but they all have one thing in common if my memory serves: They require their own space to squirrel away, and when they have it they won't leave easily."

"So I cannot make him see reason then?" Dorothy turned her head to look up at Norman.

"You would have an easier time getting Ms Ray to dress up in a pink bunny outfit I'm afraid." Dorothy tried to use her limited imagination to picture what Norman had said, but truly she could not comprehend such an outlandish statement.

* * *

Ray decided it was time to ask Norman for more advanced training. She was already able to catch Dorothy in tag two out of three attempts, and that girl could run. Well, maybe Dorothy was holding back, but somehow Ray got the feeling that wasn't the case. She loved making Ray feel inferior, and wouldn't let her win if at all possible. It wasn't as if Ray was keeping pace with her, so much as outsmarting her and tricking Dorothy into running into Ray. But it had finally worked out in her favor for the most part.

"So Norman, what's next now that I seem to be faster and stronger? Do I finally get to use a gun?" Ray was helping Norman clean up the dining room after dinner.

"You mean like the one you took without asking and keep in your waistband?" Ray couldn't help but feel a tad bit guilty, and terrified that Norman called her out in such a way. "Did you assume I didn't know?"

"No. I just thought you would be more upset when you found out." Ray wasn't sure how long he knew, but it must have been a few weeks right?

"I would be, if you hadn't proved yourself already capable of using it properly." He put the dishes in the sink and the two began scrubbing away. "Yes I think more advanced marksman training is needed for you, but not with that gun."

"Wait, so what am I supposed to use then?"

"You'll find out tomorrow morning."

"Oh no!" Ray couldn't help but moan. Those words had never ended well for her, and it wasn't going to this time either. The next morning Norman woke her up bright and early, dragged her down to the underground tunnels and handed her…

"A paintball gun?" Ray looked at the rifle-like paintball gun Norman had given her. It was about two feet long from stock to barrel tip, the magazine was on top of the gun, towards the front of the stock, and a compressed air tank at the bottom made part of the handle. She wasn't unfamiliar with them, having used them a few times as a teenager at the paintball arenas not far from her home. But for Norman to give her one was not something Ray expected, as was the next bit.

"Well, didn't think Norman would ask me to ever help with this." Roger stepped out from the gloom of the underground. He was dressed in what could be described as paintball armor. Clear glasses, some kind of thick vest that wasn't the kevlar bullet proof variety, and a helmet. Additionally he seemed to be wearing some kind of thick leggings and boots.

"Uh…. Um… Nope!" Ray turned around and started to leave.

"And where do you think you're going?" Norman piped up.

"Just because you can get away with shooting your employer doesn't mean I can." Ray yelled out over her shoulder as she tried to get away.

"You mean you'd actually pass up a chance to shoot me?" Roger laughed, not sure how to take Ray's attempt at running away.

"You mean you'd actually let me shoot at you?" She couldn't help being sarcastic. Was he really ok with this?

"Why not? Both of us could probably use the stress relief." Ray could only look at Roger like he was talking in tongues.

After taking the time to process that Ray responded, "Fine, let's get this over with then shall we. What are the rules for this little fight Norman?"

"Simple. Go put on your protective outfit, and we will begin live target practice."

Ray could only have a stupified and annoyed expression as she did as instructed. The goal was simple: hit Roger three times before he hit her three times. Ok fine, seemed simple enough to Ray, except Roger had experience avoiding bullets from his military police background and Ray had zero to none outside of laser tag and paintball. The insanity that followed in the little underground arena was like no other paintball match Ray had played.

Roger was far more adept at ducking than Ray had anticipated, and used the terrain and cover to his full advantage. But since Ray was smaller, she could use more terrain objects for cover than Roger could.

'_I'm going to have to close this gap and shoot them.'_ Both combatants couldn't help but have this singular thought as they escaped the others' onslaught. Ray worked on closing the distance first, by sneaking up to each obstacle in her path. She ran the risk of being hit, but it was the only way in her mind.

'_Almost there. Wait why isn't he…?'_ Ray's question was answered by a hail of paintballs, he had somehow gotten behind her and in three quick shots Ray was down and out, without even landing a single shot on Roger.

"Too bad, Ray. That might have worked if you had someone with you, but alone it's rather difficult to sneak up on someone and keep them pinned down." Roger took his helmet off and started getting the other armor off as well. "Let's get something to eat, I have a case later today to take care of."

"Yeah yeah, point made." Ray got out of her helmet and armor too, and they made their way up.

"Well now Ms Ray, you seem less worse for wear than I feared." Norman sounded quite jovial as the two stepped out of the elevator, and for this early in the morning no less. It still wasn't even 9'o'clock yet, and he usually let Ray sleep in until ten in the morning, provided she had done all her chores the previous day. She would stay up later than him and do chores after dinner to allow for this discrepancy in work times. But early morning hours meant less sleep and a not so happy Ray. She had been forced up at seven for the exercises and was now grumpy from losing.

"Gee thanks. Is breakfast ready? All that work made me hungry." Ray's stomach grumbled in protest at being empty.

"It will be soon, get cleaned up and come to the dining room when you are finished." Norman stepped aside as Ray headed down the hall towards her room.

"Yeah, ok." Ray stumbled off seemingly half hearted and exhausted from even the effort of walking.

"Oh dear. Was it entirely necessary to crush her spirits so Master Roger?"

"If it will keep her from doing something stupid, then yes. What she did when Dorothy and Pero were being kidnapped was reckless. Not entirely crazy or without merit, but reckless all the same. I already have one constant headache from all the insane stunts Dorothy attempts to pull, I don't need them from Ray as well." Roger heaved a weary sigh, "Well, if only one of them was acting out at once I could handle it."

Breakfast went by as any other day, Dorothy mad at Roger for being rude, them cat fighting, Ray thinking it was too early for any of it so she just sat there and ate.

But beneath the surface, Ray's mind was bubbling with thoughts and anxieties. "_How? How could he have moved so silently, given his gear and setup, and his build, he should have made some noise. And even then, why didn't I notice when he stopped shooting at me? I have a long way to go before I can better defend myself."_

Dorothy noticed Ray's unease and gave a slight frown. Not that Ray noticed or cared. She was too deep in thought. Then Ray's head snapped up and looked at Roger.

"You used your grappling hook didn't you? That's how you got behind me without making any noise."

"Oh, so you did figure it out, color me impressed." Roger kept on reading his morning paper and eating his eggs.

"Cheater." Ray finished her meal quickly and got to work. She intended to be in bed early tonight to make up for lack of sleep that morning.

* * *

Later that day Dorothy went to see her artistic friend, whose masterpiece was almost complete. On the wall was a facsimile of Dorothy, with what looked like wings and soft white cloth covering her figure. The painting had one characteristic Dorothy almost never had on her features, a graceful and gentle smile. She really wasn't sure what to think of it.

"It's almost complete now. With this, no one will be able to deny my genius!" He hugged Dorothy close, which she wasn't all that fond of, as he was covered in grime and paint and probably lack of sleep made him even grungier.

"Now that it is nearly done, will you leave to somewhere safe?"

"What?! Of course I can't leave, my masterpiece and the part of my souls I poured into it, must never be destroyed. I'll do whatever I can to protect it."

Outside, all the other buildings in the area had been knocked down to make way for a new agriculture dome, save for one building. Onto the rubble filled landscape walks a construction robot, colored yellow and black, one arm is a drill, the other looks like a wrecking ball glued to the wrist, and one of the feet looks like a bucket to pick up gavel. Inside are the three henchmen of Beck; Yume, Dove and T-Bone.

"Awesome! All we got is this last building left and Beck can collect his due from the Paradigm Company contract." T-Bone was excited for this, it meant payday and food.

"But still, why does that woman always give us crap jobs?" Yume complained.

"And to think no one even noticed. Well, with more legitimate business dealings it is much easier to avoid the bullets of the police, and we get paid for it." Dove mused as he used the leg pedals to get the robot into place near the building that remained. "We only need to keep going until the Super Beck is finished, then the boss can do as he wants."

"You think he'll come back once it's done?" Yume was excited.

"Who knows, he went off on a job and didn't tell us where he was going." T-Bone was a little melancholy. Boss hadn't been the same since the lock up.

"So long as we do what we're told, Boss will be just fine when he gets back." Dove was wistful, as Boss had mentioned hitting it big with the job he was doing.

"That's right." T-Bone agreed.

Inside the apartment building Allen was flubbing a confession and attempt at a proposal to Dorothy.

"It's almost done, it had to take a whole wall to fully express how I see you. Dorothy, I don't care if you are an android, once this is done there's something I have to ask you." The building shook as the construction bot got closer.

"It's almost over." Dove sighed.

"This is it, and it's so badly maintained it'll topple right over." Replied T-Bone.

"That artist boy had best be gone, or he's gonna be a pancake!" Sequealed Yume as she worked on the arms to start the demolition. "Let's get this ova' with and get back to Mista B."

"Yeah, once we're done we get paid, so let's get it over with!" T-Bone was enthusiastic thinking about his next meal, and praise from the boss. The wrecking ball arm went into the building, sending bricks and dust raining down on the two still inside.

"What! No? Why is this happening?" Allen was losing it.

"Allen those people last week gave you an eviction notice and have begun demolition."

"Those people? Who, well it doesn't matter! I can't let them destroy my work!" The building shook and more walls started to fall.

"We need to leave now." Dorothy stated matter of factly and attempted to drag the young man out by the arm.

"No way!" He pulled Dorothy into a tight embrace and wouldn't let her go, so she silently activated the call signal to ask for Big O and Roger to come. "I can't leave here, everything I need is here, you, my art… I'll never leave it!"

"If you don't leave, you'll die." Dorothy didn't know if she could get through to him.

"Then I'll die with my work. I'm not leaving my soul behind!"

Dorothy escaped his grip and looked him dead in the eye as the building collapsed around them. "Very well then, I think you should do what you think is best."

Crash! And with that little but rubbled remained of the building. The young artist couldn't believe his ears, and the sight of his swansong was nothing more than a pile of rubble falling around him he fainted. The construction robot started picking up and removing the debris to the glee of three little cronies, only to have their smiles wiped out as the building had been when the black Megadeus appeared on the scene.

"What? Why is the Megadeus here? Why does it always pick on us?!" Dove and T-Bone were mad. "Fine then we'll fight you!" T-Bone yelled, but was easily knocked over with a single push of Big O's black hand.

"Uwah!" The three yelled out at the construction bot was knocked over with barely any effort expanded.

"What in the world is this? I had thought when the signal for help came from Dorothy it would be an actual emergency." Roger looked at the monitor that had Dorothy on the screen, and around her were what was probably used and now ruined canvases for art, and a young man in beatnik black attire was covered in dust and dirt from the buildings collapse. "Oh, so that was why. Well, time to go home if nothing else is wrong. I'll call for an ambulance from the Griffin. It should still be nearby."

With that the black Megadeus and the little black clad android maid went home, never to meet with the artist again. Later that evening, Dorothy told Roger why she had called for him, Norman was serving Roger coffee, and Ray was trying to read some new novel while drinking some tea.

"Oh is that why?" Roger was in his robe and slippers, enjoying a calm evening on the patio.

"You needn't fear for his health or mind Miss Dorothy. I'm sure before long he will have someone else to display his affections towards." Norman held the tea tray while standing nearby.

"It's as Norman says. Humans can be rather interesting creatures that break down and fall apart easily, but with enough passion we can keep going even in the face of defeat." Dorothy could only give him a questioning look.

"So he is likely to find another woman before long then?" Dorothy hadn't been completely oblivious to what Allen had wanted, but he certainly wasn't her type.

"Hopefully a woman that will actually smack some sense into him." Ray piped up from behind the pages of her novel.

None of them had much to worry about. Across town, in a hospital room, the artist was declaring his undying love to the nurse who was assigned to his room, and she did indeed smack some sense into him.

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

Welp, this took forever to write, but here it is. The next chapter is also halfway done, so it should be out soonish.

Sorry about the lack of updates btw. Life kind of got in the way, beat me down, and then I had to try and get myself back up. But I'm up again. Might be a while till I get into later episodes, as right now I am translating the novel. Also I lost my copy of the drama cd! But I remember the dialogue fairly well, so I should still be able to use it.


	14. World building a way out

The Meeting/Cold Hands warm heart/Isolation/So what now?

Couple of stories that happen between when Beck breaks out and when he is captured again.

* * *

In a restaurant in the Main Dome only accessible to the insanely wealthy, hidden in a back alley not much frequented by the lower class, a meeting between the King of what remained of the world and the Spys thrown out by the previous king is taking place.

Truly it all sounded melodramatic to Angel, but it was the truth, more or less. They, that is to say those participating in the meeting, were seated in a private room in the back of the restaurant that even normal patrons would be hard pressed to gain access too if they should know it existed. Though food had been served, and beverages available, there was little eating and drinking going on.

"Well then, I see no reason to delay this further. Tell me then, how is the search going for the replacement parts?" The king, Alex Rosewater, spoke in a calm and level attitude, but somehow Angel got the feeling he was actually excited to hear what they had to say. If it was good news, at any rate.

"Hrmp, we found a few parts that you have requested: rotors, processors and even coupling units. We're still looking for the joints, cabling and headpieces, however." The agent that spoke wasn't much higher in rank than Angel, but had been selected to be the main speaker as he was the only one with knowledge on machine parts, working in an android repair shop he would understand the jargon in the report from the homeland. Angel hoped he would be able to put such terms into simpler words for those unawares of the technical specifications.

"That is wonderful news. Should I expect a delivery from The Union any time soon?" Alex seemed to purr at the news.

"Not until the new year. We plan to wait until we have more of the parts assembled before sending them to the main production facility." The agent adjusted his tie nervously. What he was about to say carried a lot of weight, and messing up could impact a lot of his fellow agents' lives, "With that said, what about the citizenship status of a few of our members? It would be easier for us to gather parts if we knew some of our own could live and work in the city."

"You needn't worry about that end. I've seen to it that those from the outskirts are able to get citizenship, provided they have the necessary skills to apply for much needed jobs available. Speaking of which, there was an outsider who applied recently: a young woman by the name of Ray Law. My father seems to have taken an interest in her, but she doesn't appear to be one of ours. What do you know of her?" Alex had gone back to being serious, steepling his fingers under his chin, leaning forward ever so slightly.

"Not much. We looked into her on our end as per your request, and we have no records of such a woman matching the description given. Moreover, no one has a family member fitting that description either. Whoever she is, she isn't one of ours." The agent was empathic in his attempt to answer. If Alex Rosewater didn't believe him the whole meeting could turn sour, and that would put those families trying to live peacefully in the city could be in danger.

"That is most concerning. There isn't much information about her anywhere in our records either. It's as if she simply appeared out of thin air." He frowned, for this lack of information could cost him dearly in the future, better to know if it was just his father going senile and placing himself into matters that he had no real control over, or if he was trying to undermine Alex's plans for Paradigm Citys expansion projects. "I believe that you have had an encounter with the young woman, is that correct, Ms Lovejoy?"

"Yes, it is." It was unusual for him to address her directly, and Angel unconsciously straightened up. "That said, I cannot guarantee my information is useful."

"Be that as it may, I am still inclined to hear it. What can you tell me about her; personality, impresion, skills and the like?"

"To put it plainly, she is unlikeable. Quite frankly she is a typical rowdy and tomboyish teenage girl who is quick to anger and swear when she is so inclined. Yet, there is something about her, I'm not sure how I would put it, but strange is what comes to mind." Angel sighed; it was true, Ray was a thorn in her side, and a sharp one at that.

"How so?"

"Her past adventures are a mystery, as she cannot remember how or why she is in the city, though she seemingly remembers where she comes from. She also has an eclectic assortment of abilities. Though I have not seen it for myself, supposedly she can use computers with ease, and understands the inner workings of somewhat complicated machines like androids. That said…" Angel hesitated to continue, as what else she knew was probably just speculation.

"Do go on."

"It seems the only one she has taken a liking to is the negotiator's android companion. The android is said to be cruel towards her, yet Ray doesn't seem to mind that and accompanies the android to an underground bar owned by yet a different android the negotiator sees as a friend. In fact, she seems to dislike people in general and tends to avoid them when possible. When she does go out, it is to the Mall Dome on errands or to buy books."

"Hm, I see. That really is not much to go on, but at the very least that tells us one thing." Alex had a bemused smile across his features, and it made him appear a tad bit wicked.

"And that is, sir?" Angel didn't like that look one bit, it terrified her.

"She may possess memories that we have need of. Please continue to track her for a while longer, and mayhap we will have the answers we seek." He sat up and began to eat at that point. "No point in letting it go to waste gentlemen, please eat before it gets cold. Additionally, as we are seeking to build another farming dome in the near future, would you be so kind as to send architects and construction workers from your homeland to assist in the project?"

Soon the meeting was over and Angel was glad she could change back into her skin tight biker suit. She really didn't like wearing business attire as much as she had to for work, but it put food in the fridge and gas in the tank, so she didn't have much reason to complain. She left the building to find one of her own standing next to her bike, black fedora pulled down over his face to make it harder for cameras to identify him and his hands in his pockets.

"Something I can help you with?" Angel tried to play coy.

"We have orders from the homeland pertaining to that girl spoken of in the meeting: keep an eye on her, and if she does have the skills you assume, she cannot be allowed to fall into Rosewaters hands."

"Wasn't planning on it." The agent turned and left then, leaving Angel alone in the dark alleyway. "_Just why is everyone obsessed with this kid? And it's not like I've seen any of her supposed talents for myself, just what I can pick up from gossip."_ Angel looked up at the top of the dome, with it's false sky and stars. "There's no place like home. I bet the stars are shining there." She whispered to no one in particular. On her face was etched a sad smile.

For a few days after the Amusement Park Dome incident, Ray felt a terrible chill down her spine, but was not certain why. It was as if her every movement outside the mansion was being watched, so she took to staying at home for the time being, where the only one spying on her so closely would be Dorothy.

NO SIDE

* * *

Cold Hands Warm Heart

* * *

Ray hadn't been feeling good for the last few days. Since a day or so before the Amusement Dome incident, she had felt awful, aside from feeling like someone was intently watching her. Her head had felt fuzzy and her sinuses stuffed up, and she even had a mild headache to boot. _Well it is autumn now, and colds are becoming common. I'll be fine in a few days._

Still, Ray felt beyond awful that day when she woke up, sleeping well past her typical wake up time, and only waking when she heard Dorothy banging on the piano. She got up, stumbled her way into the bathroom, and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Ugh I look terrible." Ray couldn't help saying it. She looked haggard with her bloodshot eyes with blackish purple bags underneath, reddish cheeks and nose that seemed to be dripping. "Ew gross. Did a truck hit me last night? Geez."

"Not unless a truck can magically fit in your room and suddenly disappear without causing structural damage." Dorothy was at the door to her bathroom, Ray hadn't bothered to close it.

"Ugh, morning." Ray's voice sounded gravelly.

"You look unwell." Ray was certain she was hallucinating Dorothy's concern for her well being.

"I feel unwell. Huh?" Dorothy had closed the distance between them, and was very close to Ray. "What are you doing?"

"Checking your temperature." Dorothy put a cold hand on Ray's forehead for a few seconds before pulling it away. "You have a fever of 102 F, you need to lay back down now. I will inform Norman you are not feeling well. Please go back to bed and rest." With that Dorothy was gone and left Ray to stumble back to bed.

Norman came in later with some medicines and soup for Ray, but she was far too weak to care for herself at that point. When he attempted to help Ray, Dorothy swooped in and forced Norman from the room.

"You are likely to become ill too if you try and care for Ray. I will do it, so please leave." Dorothy then proceeded to care for a weak and pathetic Ray. Not that there was much she could do at that moment, Ray was asleep, but in much pain and discomfort. Ray was clammy to the touch, but was sweating bullets. Dorothy brought in a bowl of cold water and a washcloth and would occasionally clean Rays face off before putting on a cold compress.

Ray didn't remember much from the next few days, just that when she woke up a pair of small cold hands forced her back down, helped feed her and give her fluids, and once in a while brushed the hair from Ray's face.

"Is she..." Ray passed out before hearing the rest.

"How is…?" Voices seemed to float by her.

"Has her temperature gone down?" That was the first complete and coherent sentence Ray would make out after a few days in bed. It sounded like Norman, but she wasn't sure.

"Yes, it's down to only 100 F now. In a few more days she should be well." Dorothy's voice, Ray could tell that. She sounded close, but Ray still couldn't make out much from the conversation the two had, save for that.

When Ray was finally able to stay awake for more than a few seconds at a time a day later, she felt gross, she was sticky from sweating so much, and her eyes felt too heavy to open for longer than a minute. Not that she needed to see much. Soon a cold cloth was placed over her face by a pair of cold hands.

"Are you finally awake?" Dorothy's voice, no mistaking it.

"Yeah. How long have I been out?"

"Three days. A doctor came by that first day and said you had influenza. So I have been caring for you since then." Dorothy removed the cloth from Ray's face and helped her sit up.

"Why, don't you hate me?"

"You dying would be an inconvenience to both Norman and Roger." Ray's chest hurt when she laughed at Dorothy's snarky comment.

"Yeah I guess it would." Ray's stomach growled loudly then, protesting not having anything to eat in days.

"I'll bring you something to eat. Stay here."

"Yeah, not sure where else I could go. Um if it's ok, could I have a cup of tea too?"

Dorothy looked back at Ray, slightly annoyed, before her features seemed to soften. "I'll bring you some."

"Thanks." Ray wasn't sure how much time passed while she sat there fading in and out of consciousness, but before long Dorothy had returned and tried to help Ray. "I can feed myself, you don't have to baby me all the time."

"You're shaking."

"Oh."

"Here." Ray wasn't given much choice but to let Dorothy care for her.

"What time is it now?" It looked like it was late to Ray.

"1:30 in the morning. You woke up around one."

"Ok. I need a shower." Ray tried to stand up, but was still shaking a lot.

"No, lay back down." Dorothy put her cold hands on Ray's shoulders. Even through her night shirt she could feel them.

"Dorothy, come on, I smell awful and I'm covered in sweat. I can't go back to sleep like this." Ray really felt pathetic, and wasn't sure if a shower would completely make her feel better, but being clean was better than being dirty and smelly any day. Dorothy pulled away and let Ray up.

"Don't lock the bathroom door. If you pass out I will need to be able to get to you."

"Yeah yeah, sure, whatever ya pervert." Ray was finally smiling again, for the first time in days, so it was enough for Dorothy to let her be. Ray got into the shower, and realizing that she was a bit dizzy, she sat down and took a shower that way. "Maybe I wasn't up for this. Whatever, not about to give up now. She wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I did."

Dorothy came to check on Ray once or twice, but didn't enter when Ray answered back. After almost twenty minutes in the shower, Ray got out and dressed, dried up her hair and started back to bed. When she was close she noticed her sheets no longer had a puddle of sweat on them, and looked clean.

"Oh, guess she changed them for me." Ray crawled back into bed and fell asleep. Soon a little furball jumped into bed with her and started purring away. Just beyond the door frame Dorothy kept watch on her, but for what remained of the night Ray slept peacefully. The next day she awoke at around ten, got up and started getting dressed for work. When Ray walked into the kitchen Norman was making breakfast and Dorothy was trying to help.

"Really Ms Dorothy, this is rather unusual coming from you. Why the sudden interest in cooking?"

"It's too much risk for you to try and care for Ray. I am the only one that cannot be made sick, so it stands to reason I should learn what is needed in case either you or Roger become ill as well."

"Heh." Ray couldn't help but laugh at the absurd scene in front of her. Dorothy was really trying to cook, but it seemed like she was having trouble.

"Oh, you seem to be doing much better Ms Ray." Norman hadn't noticed her come in, as he was keeping an eye on Dorothy's culinary disaster in the making.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better. Thanks for taking care of me these past few days Dorothy." Dorothy gave no reply, just looked over at Ray before asking something of her.

"Would you try it?" Dorothy held out a spoonful of some unrecognizable slop to Ray. It appeared to be gray ooze.

"Why me? Normans the better cook and would be far more capable of reviewing this." Ray grimaced.

"Killing Norman with food poisoning would not be ideal." Dorothy deadpanned.

"Haha, well you have a point. I guess I'll try whatever this is." Ray hesitantly ate what it was that Dorothy had given her. "Huh! This actually isn't that bad. The texture is weird, but it tastes alright."

Dorothy seemed to smile at that. "Well sit down and eat then. I was making it for you anyway."

"Really? Why?" Ray couldn't hide her surprise at that statement.

"Because you were unwell until this morning. And you still aren't completely well, now sit down and eat."

"Ok ok. Don't be so pushy." Ray sat down at the kitchen table and ate whatever the slop was that Dorothy had made for her. After Ray had eaten it, Dorothy cleaned up after and told Ray to wait for a bit.

"Wait for what?"

"I need to check your temperature again." Dorothy came over and placed her cold hand on Ray's head. "98.5 F, so you should be fine later today."

"Hm. Cold hands, warm heart."

"What?" Dorothy tilted her head in confusion.

"It's something my mom used to tell me, I wasn't entirely sure what it meant when I was little, but as I grew up I realized it meant that someone that seems cold can actually be pretty kind. I hadn't even thought about it in a long time." Ray gave a sad smile. "It's just… these last few days you've been the one caring for me, and for some reason that saying keeps coming to mind. You're usually pretty cold to me, but you can be nice when you want. So… I guess I'm trying to thank you, is all."

"You must still be sick. Go back to bed." Dorothy shoed Ray out of the kitchen and made sure she made it back to her room and rested. After she left Ray's room Dorothy thought to herself, "_She is a strange human. Who would think to thank an android for following logic?"_

We Have Come to Terms

* * *

Isolation

* * *

The last few days, Ray had a terrible sense of unease when she went outside. It didn't matter for how long, or where she went, it felt like there were many sets of eyes on her, and none of them wanted or warranted in her mind. It had come to a point where Ray just flat out refused to leave the mansion, save for the patio in the evenings. At least she didn't feel like she was under surveillance, other than the usual from her typical present company.

"What's gotten into Ray? She's acting like she fears for her life," Roger had noticed the girl had become withdrawn and more secretive in the last few days. And she wasn't exactly forthcoming in his eyes to begin with.

"I'm not sure myself sir, but she seems to think someone is stalking her whenever she leaves the house." Norman was working on his motorcycle when Roger had found him. Changing out some parts and tuning others to his high standards.

"Other than Dorothy, who would be keeping an eye on Ray so closely as to stalk her?" Roger knew that Dorothy had taken keeping an eye on Ray a bit far when the human teen had complained that the robot teen was watching her sleep at night, and Ray felt it was creepy and needed to stop. Roger had warned Dorothy that such actions were indeed going a bit too far, but didn't entirely discourage it. Ray still had too many secrets for his liking.

"I wouldn't know sir. But if Ray being skittish and past events are any indication, she may well have reason to be scared." He stood up from his crouched position then, and went to clean grease off his hands. "It's not as if an assassin tried to kill her a few months ago or anything."

"Ah, yeah that is true." Roger scratched at his chin nervously. It wasn't like Norman to subtly scold him without reason. So Roger knew he probably shouldn't press Ray any further on the issue. "_That said, if Ray won't open up under these circumstances, maybe it's time to drop the subtlety myself. Right now she should be finished with her work and reading in the lounge."_

Roger's guess was of course correct. Much like any human in this city of amnesia, Ray kept to her daily habits even when her life was disrupted. Habits and traditions had a way of keeping people sane in a city without a known past.

"Ray?" Even though Roger had used a softer tone of voice so as not to startle her, Ray still jolted to attention from her slouched seating in the armchair. "There's no reason to be on edge, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Ok. What is it?" She closed her book and tried to relax a little, but it was difficult to do, as usually his questions were those Ray couldn't or refused to answer. For a pleasant change of pace, he asked her something she could tell him the truth about for once.

"Do you really think someone is stalking you when you leave the house?" Roger sat on the couch adjacent to Ray, hoping that getting on her level of sight would apply to part of her subconscious that he was trying to help her. Roger certainly didn't look like it, but he had studied quite a bit of psychology to use during his negotiations, though much to his irritation Ray was usually aware of said tactics and they failed to reach an understanding as a result. But Ray was not as on guard this time, or perhaps she was just tired of putting up walls all the time. Whatever the reason was, Roger felt she was willing to talk.

She laughed nervously. "You're going to think I am insane or paranoid, but yes."

"Maybe you are being paranoid, but talking about why you feel that way is certainly better than bottling it up." "_Yes! Finally some progress."_

"What are you? My therapist?" Ray laughed again, but it was genuine and mirthful. "Alright fine then, best get your notepad and pen ready." Roger pulled a small notepad and pen out of his pocket, and that sent Ray into howls of laughter.

"Ok, ok you got me. I wasn't expecting you to do that." Ray was smiling for the first time in a few days, and it certainly was better than her being jumpy.

"So, what makes you think you're being watched?" Roger was making headway, and he didn't want to lose the momentum when Ray had finally let herself be open. Ray tensed up. "_No, just a bit more and maybe we can finally chip away at that wall you built."_

"Well…," Ray sighed and hesitated for a second before launching into her explanation. "I'm not sure why exactly, but everytime I leave the house it feels like every move I make is being recorded, followed and traced. It's not like I see anyone specific, or notice anyone out of the ordinary. More like there's this… vacuum of space around me that shouldn't be. And it's… well it's weird. There's people around me, but it feels like they aren't there."

"Yeah, that does sound weird, and like you're paranoid." Ray frowned at Rogers blatant assessment. "But it's not an unheard of tactic."

"Huh?" Ray blinked in confusion.

"The best way to surveil someone isn't to follow them, it's to have regular people walk past them and then pay them for whatever information they can provide." It was a tactic Roger has used in both his Military Police days and in his more recent endeavours at finding out more about some certain women in his life. He didn't think Ray would want to hear that however. Well, he was actually keeping an eye on Angel these days, but that was another issue. "_Ray might still slap me if she ever found out I had paid some neighbourhood kids off to keep an eye on her, but that was a few months ago."_

"So I might not be insane and have actual reason to be worried?" Ray was having trouble believing it, but did Roger think she was telling the truth? She was of course, but he was always so pushy with trying to get her to be honest and open.

"You're sane, whether that's good or not is up to you." He gave her one of his charming smiles trying to win her over just a little more, but Ray's facial expression had a way of conveying that she found it bemusing and annoying at the same time. "Well, if you're willing, there might be a way to make it stop."

Ray sat up straight at that, and nodded agreement. "Alright, then for this we'll need to…"

Some hours later in the early evening, Ray left the house to go to her favorite used bookstore. Tonight, she was indeed being followed, but at least she knew some of her shadows. Dorothy would be with her, carrying her shopping basket. Inside the basket Norman had placed a device that pinged nearby recording devices. A block behind them, Norman would be following in his relaxed day off clothing and had a device that would receive signals from the device Dorothy had. If someone was stalking Ray, they would know immediately and he could deal with it. Roger went on ahead to the bookstore and would pick them up there.

"This is nerve racking." Ray was shaky as the two teens walked on. She kept trying to ignore the feeling of eyes on her, but it was difficult.

"You are probably insane and wasting everyone's time with this goose chase. But if you are then Roger can simply put you in an asylum and I will never have to deal with you again." Dorothy was blunt as always, but somehow Ray had come to find that reassuring instead of annoying.

"Meh, they'll probably just medicate me. I'm not trying to hurt anyone, so no reason to lock me up in a padded room with a nice straight jacket." She shrugged, but felt a calmer for Dorothy's verbal assault. "_I never thought I would get used to that again. Then again, she had every right to suspect and dislike me."_

The two kept on towards the bookstore, and made it there without incident. The closer they got, the less fearful Ray felt, as if doubts evaporating like rain on hot pavement. She even began to hum a juantly little tune from a video game. Within another ten minutes they arrived at the steps leading into the corner shop that the bookstore resided in. Ray let out a loud sigh of relief.

"Well, that was all for nothing." Dorothy deadpanned. She really didn't like having to go along with Ray anywhere. And certainly not when it was what she felt to be a waste of time.

"Yeah, but hey, we're here, may as well pick up some reading." Ray went into the shop while Dorothy waited outside. Roger pulled up from around the corner and idled there until Ray came out with a stack of books. The three headed home to meet Norman. His news was the proof Ray needed.

"Well Norman, find anything useful?" Roger asked as he stepped out of the elevator.

"Indeed I did sir. Four listening devices, two civilians being paid for their information, and a few unscrupulous individuals who ran at my approach." Norman seemed rather proud of himself. "That should take care of any prying eyes for a while."

It was as if Ray had shouted into the void, and the void slapped back. Her head was reeling from this information. "_So many people following and spying on me, and for what? Who would want to…?"_

She didn't need to finish the thought, she somehow knew exactly who was watching her, maybe not why, but definitely who. And it sent chills down her spine. "_No… But at the same time, it makes sense. His father contacted me for seemingly unknown reasons, and he also keeps an eye on Roger, so he would have to know I was here already. Moreover, Angel keeping an eye on me would be because of her own curiosity, but what if her higher ups told her too?"_

Ray's contorted face of terror told the other three that whatever she was thinking, it was absolutely awful.

"Ray, get a grip on yourself. Ray!" She snapped too as Roger gripped her shoulders lightly. She shook her head as she slammed back into her present reality, and noticed her lower lip was hot. Touching a hand to her face she saw blood. She must have bitten herself, but she was so out of it with shock and fear she hadn't noticed.

"Oh…" She didn't finish speaking, as Norman handed her a handkerchief and told her to apply some pressure.

"You should rest. We'll talk about this later." Norman gently pushed her towards her room.

"You're right, I'm clearly not feeling well." Ray was too out of it to fight back.

Behind Ray, Dorothy appeared as if she was frowning. "She's going to have more nightmares now, isn't she?"

"Probably, but can you blame her? A paranoid nightmare for most people just became a very terrifying waking reality for her." Roger loosened his tie and headed to his office on the floor below. "_And she probably knows exactly who it was, and she won't tell me. But if those watching her are the 'enemies' she seems to think I have, then maybe Ray thinks she's protecting us by not saying anything. Either way I'll have to be more aware of these attempts in the future. What if whoever was doing this planned to kidnap Dorothy or Ray?"_

"I'm going to need a drink before all these spy vs spy games are over." Roger sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. As he sat down at his desk and went to turn his computer on, he found a note written in a rather femine hand left in front of the keyboard. And it smelled faintly sweet. "Hm? Did she sneak in again?"

_Dear Mr Negotiator,_

_Even should you scare off watchers now, more will come. 'She' has come under the scrutiny of the king and his court. Moreover, those waiting in the wings have interest in her as well. Prepare her for an in person meeting in the future. It will be to your benefit if she behaves._

_Yours truly,_

The note had lipstick in lieu of a signature, but it wasn't hard for Roger to imagine who had left it for him. The note was short and simple, but the message was impactful all the same. He grit his teeth, crumpled the note and tossed it in the trashcan before running a hand through his hair again.

"Is that what Ray meant by my having enemies?" He growled low under his breath. "And now I have to deal with the Paradigm Corp too?"

No Side

* * *

So now what?

* * *

Ray was fully healed, and doing much better, but since Beck had broken out of prison not quite two weeks ago and had yet to be caught, Ray kept having an ever present sense of impending peril. Not that she could say why, but Ray also knew what would happen the next time Beck tried to fight with Roger.

At least she thought she did. A proverbial wrench had been thrown into the gears that was Paradigms City's forward march when the two realities of the anime and manga had mixed. Almost nothing had gone the way Ray had expected from the entrance of the ghost ship. That said, it wasn't as if the story was ignoring events from the two so much as mixing them into a somewhat cohesive single story. Somewhat, because Ray still felt stilted by it all. And while many events were happening, it was somewhat out of order.

Moreover, Ray had started thinking on a new set of questions. She had to see the story through according to the old King of the Dome, Gordon Rosewater. But what if that wasn't true? What if there was a way for her to leave a little early? She would still have to be around for a bit longer for certain, but what if she could leave after a particular plot point was hit? It was worth a shot as far as she was concerned.

Either way, she would have to wait a little longer before she could attempt to leave. And even then, it wasn't a short wait. The earliest jump off point would likely be late winter, around the time she had awoken in the city. Meaning she would have to see the year out at least.

Yes a whole year in this city of no past and unknown future. Well, it wasn't so bad. In truth, Ray had actually enjoyed much of her time here, as it was far less stressful than her life back home. She had a decent full time job, room and board, and even earned enough after to pay for hobby goods and luxuries. She even had paid sick days! Something that had been unimaginable to her before.

Well, whatever the case would be, there was another question Ray had, and this one she could get an answer too, provided the one she had to ask would give it to her.

"Um, Dorothy, I want to ask you a question, but it might be kind of personal, so if you don't want to you don't have to answer it." Ray approached Dorothy, standing on the patio and not the concrete railing that evening.

"What is it?" She didn't turn to face Ray, just kept looking out over the city.

"Did… Did your 'big'," Ray made air quotes at that word, "sister have a voice? Ya know, like the Megadeus do? I was curious, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"She did."

"Is that so. Do you think you could tell me what she said?"

"It's rather disturbing, are you sure you want to hear it?" Dorothy finally turned her head to look up at Ray.

"Yeah, if you don't mind. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to though." Dorothy's choice of words made Ray nervous.

"She was crying in pain." Dorothy looked back out over the city.

"Huh?" Whatever Ray had expected Dorothy to say, it wasn't that.

"When I met her for the first time, she was crying. The mind control device being used on her hurt, as it was a hijacked version of the proper control mechanism. She couldn't break free of it, and I tried to connect with her so I could help ease her pain…" Dorothy stopped then, her voice just trailed off and she seemed so small to Ray.

"Oh, you don't need to…" Dorothy found her voice again despite Ray's attempt to insist she didn't need to continue.

"Then Big O punched her through the chest, and her voice was gone. The connection shut off so suddenly it caused some mental feedback pain to me as well. I thought… I thought that was the end of her. Not long after that I ran back home to my father and I never wanted to remember it again. But the next night that gaudy gold clothed man kidnapped me again, and one of his henchmen murdered my father in front of me as well."

"You don't mean… When you were being used as a living battery that… that she was talking again?" Ray could only stumble over her words and look at Dorothy in horror, not for what she was, but what she had experienced.

"She did. But it was no longer cries of pain, instead a chorus of shrieks in agony." Dorothy's body shuddered at the memory. "She knew. She knew that she shouldn't have been awake or even functioning, and begged for it to end over and over. She also knew I shouldn't have been there, but attempted to control me as a means of escape. I was hooked up to her, forced to control her through a hijacking program, bound so that I could not move, there was no escape for either of us."

"Oh my god." Ray's eyes widened in horror and she became slack jawed as she could only imagine the terror her friend must have had to face. "How have you been able to deal with it?"

"When Roger rescued me that night, and pulled me away, I was finally able to control my motor functions again and was no longer a part of her. Her voice died again, I hope for good. Knowing that she cannot be abused again helps, a little bit at least."

Ray didn't say anything at first, she just took a step toward Dorothy and hugged her. "Dorothy, I am so, so sorry. You've been through hell, and I didn't even realize it was that horrific. I shouldn't have asked you about your sister. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Thank you Ray." Dorothy pulled away. "I never told anyone about that before, for fear no one would believe me, or think I was malfunctioning."

"Norman would have believed you." Ray spoke in a softer tone than her typical brashness.

"Maybe, but he worries about my well being enough as it were."

"Well, as much as it must have hurt for you to tell me, I'm glad you did." Ray could only sigh as she looked out over the city forlornly. "_And now I have yet another answer I needed, another step forward, but at what cost?"_

There were multiple takeaways from this that Ray received. One was that even androids could suffer from psychological trauma. Another was that, given a craftsman's skill, they could even make an imitation Big that was capable of thought. And the third and last revelation was that Beck was truly a monster. Ray was not letting him get away if they met. She already immensely disliked the man, without ever having been forced to interact with him, now she wouldn't let him escape unscathed no matter the cost. She didn't want to kill him, but if he was mained a little then maybe that would be enough to stop him, and maybe if she did, the course of the story would change and eject her from the world.

We Have Come to Terms.

* * *

So now we have a set up and reason for our viewers to dislike Beck even more. I felt like Ray disliking Beck with little reason other than "You're criminal scum who I have no attachment to" really wouldn't work. It's like a villain in a video game who the hero never meets with, but for some reason really hates the hero and never explains themselves as to why. Well now there's a very real reason why Ray would hate him.


	15. Beck is Back, for real this time

Ahahaha this is what I get for planning out my fics in advance, while writing the previous two chapters I was also working on this one too.

* * *

Out in the desert ruins beyond the city, a long black Cadillac pulled up in front of a ramshackle house with some neon signage out front. There was also what looked like a gas pump, but it was disabled.

"I just had to run out of gas didn't I?" Roger sighed as he went up to the door to knock. "Maybe they have some fuel to spare?"

"Hmm, oh haven't seen one of you in a while, you a customer! It's been so long since I've had customers." An old man with unkempt hair standing straight up with a long scraggy bread going to almost his waist came to the door not long after Roger had started pounding on it. He wore a strange shirt with unusual leaf patterns in green against a main color of navy blue. Khaki shorts and sandals completed the weird outfit.

"Um yeah, I was actually going to ask if you had any fuel…" Roger began.

"Sorry, but we're closed."

"Huh?"

"But something must have brought you all the way out here, so come on in, Sonny. It's getting dark, and it'll be cold soon." The man turned around and headed inside.

"Watch your step." The odd, old and short man invited him in. The inside of the shack was like a strange museum with no central theme. Books and artifacts from different eras lined the walls, a jukebox with color neon siding played some jaunty tunes, colorful advertisements covered the walls, toys and other such nonsense filled the shelves.

"This is amazing." Roger was in awe. He didn't even know what most of these things were, much less that they had ever existed.

"Hm, oh well I found most of it out in the wastes." The old man was digging around in a box. "Want some wine? It's the real stuff."

"Really? Sure I'd love a glass," Roger took a sip of the proffered red wine, "I've never tasted wine like this, this is superb." Roger took another look around again.

"Heheh, that so well there's plenty more where that came from, drink up." The old man took a swig from his cup and gestured dismissively.

"Say old man, who are you?"

"Me? Just some old codger." He took a puff off his cigar.

Some distance away from the cabin, a gold clothed man looked through a set of binoculars out in the wastes. His motorcycle was running low on fuel, and he needed to find somewhere that might have at least a can. Spotting an old house with neon signage and what looked like gas pumps outside, he had found his target. "Looks like someone made it here before us. I thought you said no one knew about this place?"

A smarmy little made man squirmed under Beck's gaze. "It's probably just some drifter. Hehe, no big deal right?"

Both men started laughing, until Beck put a bullet through his head. "Geez, what's become of customer service? Well whatever. You're not going to need any money where you're going, but I do. Hey, this dude was loaded!"

He hopped on his motorcycle and headed down the steep path to the shack. He knocked on the door and the old codger answered. "Oh look, more customers. Come on in."

"Hey, gramps is that what I think it is?"

"Hm, oh you know what cigarettes are? Here, have one."

Beck took a big puff. "Hot damn, this is real tobacco."

"That so? Well ,come on in, there's more here. Hey buddy we got another guest."

_Ack! What's Roger Smith doing here? _Beck's mind blared.

_Beck? Why is he here?_ Roger thought.

"Well now, this is turning into a party." The room got tense despite the old man's attempts at being jovile.

Suddenly a buxom blonde in a black dress suite burst into the door holding an official looking document. "I heard there were some forty year old memories out here collecting dust. I've come to collect them at this establishment under the jurisdiction of the Paradigm Corp."

_Angel!_ Both young men found themselves surprised by the sudden entrance.

"Oho! A party ain't a party till a woman shows up." The old codger seemed buzzed. "Oh she's a real looker too. Come on in."

_Roger Smith? Beck? What are they doing here?_

The old codger began singing a jaunty tune in German, though no one knew the lyrics but him.

_Well isn't this just cozy._ Roger was less than thrilled at the situation, and had started drinking more as a result. Beck sat in a chair across from him smoking it up, while Angel went around and examined everything in sight.

_This is amazing, so much of what's here was never documented. I'll have to collect as much as I can for now._ Angel put on a pair of silicone gloves before touching anything, intending to take stock of everything she could.

"How come no one's drinking?" The old man scratched his head in confusion.

"Hey missy don't just stand there, have a drink with us."

"Oh! This is…!" Angel turned around at being called and grabbed the bottle of wine from the table.

"Let's drink together. This stuffs pretty good." The old man took another sip.

"You need to stop this instant!" Angel stamped her foot indignantly. "That's not the issue! You're drinking and smoking away valuable memories!" Angel protested as Roger downed another glass and Beck continued puffing.

"Hey, where did you find all this alcohol?" Roger asked the old man.

"Hm? This old junk? Oh I found it out in the wastes and brought it here. Not like anyone was going to miss it." He took another drink. "You can have some if you want."

"These aren't yours to give away!" The old man started laughing at Angels shouting. "What is so funny?"

"Well whose are they to give away then? After all there's no one else out here. As far as this old man is concerned, if you see something you want, take as much as you like."

"Mister you're…" Roger was cut off by the shouting match between Beck and Angel

"Argh, look at all these books lying in a heap, they need to be sorted and catalogued." Angel started picking through the books carefully.

"Awesome!" Beck started going through the various selections of no longer produced imbibements and choosing what he wanted to take back. With Angel here he knew he wasn't getting another chance.

"Back off Beck. You can't just take whatever you want."

"Shut it you fallen Angel, the old man said it was fine." Beck didn't much care for being bossed around.

"These two are awful, fighting like that." Roger's cheeks were starting to color from the wine.

The old man laughed at the fighting, "The rowdier the party the better. Here drink up."

Roger took the glass the man offered him. "You sure can hold your liquor old man."

After a while the old man sang another tune in a language no one understood. Roger finally became curious enough to ask what it meant.

"Hhhmmmm? Um? Oh I know, follow me and I'll show you." He went down a set of stairs slightly hidden from view. The rooms behind looked newer and better cared from than the room upstairs. "Let me see where is it? Oh here it is, I couldn't haul this contraption upstairs. There we go." The old man placed a round metal disc on what looked like a giant record player, but it had some ports and addons Roger didn't recognize. A jaunty tune began playing. Roger started laughing when he realized how terribly off key the old man was.

"So they had this entire facility down here?" Beck came into the newer partition. "Wow, this looks more modern."

"No wonder the wine tasted real and was so well preserved." Angel had a facial expression of having stepped into a mine filled with gems. "This is an incredible discovery."

"Those two are like vultures." Roger's cheeks were very red at this point. "It's disgusting."

"Let 'em have their fun, and we go get another drink." The old man said.

"Say, unlike all the other elderly people I see in the city mourning their lost memories and shackled to their past, you don't seem to be too upset about the loss of your memories. You're ah… what's the word again? A free spirit."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment youngin? Well no need to flatter this old geezer. Memories are like this stuff here… old junk. They come and go so easy. So if you got one you like, you should just enjoy it for what it is. Don't you agree young man?"

Suddenly lights flashed in the windows, and the sounds of sirens could be heard.

"Oh good, finally they're here." Angel crossed her arms in annoyance. _What took them so long?_

"Attention residents of this building! If you hand over the memories contained inside peacefully you will be provided a home and job in the city!" A loud voice blared over a megaphone. It wasn't Dan Dastun though, Roger knew that much even when drunk.

Beck chose poorly when to exist from the basement. "Hey what's going on?"

"I told you, this place is now under Paradigm Co jurisdiction." Angel gave a smug look and adjusted her fake glasses.

"Dammit!" Beck dropped the liquor he held and started blasting the cops outside the window, ran to his bike and high-tailed it away.

"Yeehaw, this partys finally kicking!" The old codger seemed not to care that his home was being shot up and ransacked by those from Paradigm.

Angel went up to the officer in charge and started the collection process. "We already negotiated with the resident. So it's fine."

Roger only then recognized the officer as Colonel Gaus, who had survived an assassinated attempt a few months before.

"Hmm, so that criminal Jason Beck was after this place too. Who else do we have to deal with?" Gaus noticed Roger standing off to the side then, seeming not to care that all this was going on. Really Roger was too drunk to stand without the wall. While the old man sang whatever the tune he loved was, Roger started to see an old enemy.

"_Roger Smith… When did you first see it?"_ Schwarzwald was there! _No what that's not possible, how could he have snuck in here with the military police. Am I drunk?_

"_How is it that you can operate IT?" _Schwarzwald stepped closer, his arms spread wide as he made dramatic gestures about the room.

"... I'm under no obligation to answer that, especially not to someone insane like you." He felt his face heating up, but was it anger or alcohol?

"_YES YOU ARE! It's because of you, because of what you have done that I was created. You made me, created this insanity."_ The ghostly Schwarzwald that only Roger saw pointed first at him, then to his own chest.

"Who are you?" Roger took a step back, wobbling.

"_And for making me this way I thank you. It's truly invigorating. NOW answer me, how do you operate it?"_

* * *

Back at the mansion, the two teen girls were trying to relax for a change.

"What are you doing now?" Dorothy looked up from the book Ray had somehow managed to convince her to read. She could be quite convincing when she wanted to be.

"Trying to untangle this yarn mess Robin made of my current project." The scene was rather comical, not that Dorothy could really understand that. Ray was part of the tangle, trying to pull loops of yarn through other loops of yarn and creating a pile of criss crossing streams, all to wrap up a ball of yarn that Robin had played with earlier. "Seriously, how did the little dude even manage to make this much of a mess? This is going to take hours."

"Well, enjoy yourself." Dorothy went back to reading the book while Ray went about trying to undo more of the mess. Soon Norman came in to interrupt one of the few times the two got along.

"We might have a big problem. Master Roger has summoned Big O, but it is outside of the Prairie Dogs travel area."

"Seriously? Now?" Ray had somehow gotten yarn tangled around her arms in the process of fixing the mess Robin made, looking somewhat like an unkempt mummy. At present she was attempting to remove herself from the web of mess.

"I'm afraid so." With that the two girls left for the hanger.

"Perhaps keep Robin away from the yarn Norman."

"Yes please." Ray finally freed herself and walked briskly to catch up with the gynoid.

"Why are you even coming this time? Do you presume Roger has started a fight with another Megadeus?" Dorothy began the start up procedures, though she could barely reach any of the controls.

"Well, it's best go see what he's fighting right?" Ray had followed Dorothy into the cockpit and held onto the back of the command chair. "But why am I always the one left standing?"

* * *

"We hit the jackpot!" Gaus walked out from the behind the house bunker, enthusiastic at what had been found. "We'll take all this back to the city, and I can gain points back from the last few failed missions… Huh?"

Far from the ramshackle house, the Big O plodded into view, but it had a very unusual pilot.

"I cannot believe he is willing to let you do this." Dorothy sat on the node beside the cockpits half glass dome.

"Neither can I, but here we are. Save, I can barely reach the pedals." Ray was struggling to get the Megadeus to move forward, but it responded easily enough. The only reason Ray was at the helm instead of Dorothy was that she didn't have to sit on the very edge of the seat to reach the controls, and most of the modules were within her reach. "Though somehow I get the feeling he's not going to let me do this ever again."

"He doesn't seem pleased by this turn of events, does he?" Dorothy wasn't usually one to muse, but she was right. Ray got the sense Big O wanted her to get to Roger asap, and was just barely willing to let her at the controls to achieve said purpose.

"Well, there's a house up ahead, I think that's where the signals are coming from right?" Ray was trying to make out the readout on a side screen, but wasn't sure what it all meant. She didn't have to worry, as soon Roger clambered into the cockpit from the hidden elevator, but he reeked of booze. "Oh there you are, we had to pilot Big O out here you know."

On the ground it was chaos. Soldiers ran to their tanks. "The Megadeus? What's it doing here anyways?"

"Holy smokes, I've never had such a large customer before!" The old man took a swig from his bottle and chuckled at the ensuing calamitous events that unfolded.

"This is very far from the Prairie Dog and Ray had to pilot Big O above ground for a few miles. Roger, why did you call Big O out here?" Dorothy had turned to look at him, and he appeared rather disheveled.

"Have you been drinking?" Ray's nose crinkled at the strong smell. It was real booze, that much she could tell, but how much had he had for the scent to permeate the small area to such a degree.

"Never mind that, move! Something's down there that needs a smashin!" Roger slurred his

words a bit, and if not for the fact she felt she had to move, Ray might have refused.

"Welp, hope it's not illegal to pilot a Megadeus under the influence." Ray mumbled, not that Dorothy didn't hear it. Soon enough Roger began to pulverize the small house below, and would have continued going on a rampage had Dorothy not stop it.

"Roger are you drunk?"

"No I am not drunk! Got to destroy that thing." Whatever nightmare Roger saw, the girls did not.

The ghostly image of Schwarzwald was in the cockpit with him, jeering like a deranged mummy. "_What do you think you're doing summoning the forgotten memories of old into the present?"_

"It's true that Big O is a memory…" The girls couldn't see who he was talking to.

"Oh no, the memories!" Angel's one track mind was not to her benefit.

"Retrieve as many memories as possible, before the Megadeus destroys the building!" Gaus gave the order, but it was too late. KABOOM! The roof was turned to ash.

"... And that I can operate the Big O!" He set off a few chest missiles.

"Oh no!" Angel yelled out, "Stop you drunken fool!"

"But I'm under no one's jurisdiction, and the military police are nothing more than corporate muscle!" Roger used the eye lasers to rake the ground near the tanks and scare the soldiers below away. "I will use this power… I will use Big O's power for what I feel is just!"

Gaus gave the order to retreat with whatever memories they had already collected, and the lot were gone.

"Roger stop. Stop it. This isn't like you." Dorothy had jumped into the seating area. But he was too lost in his delusions to hear her until she placed a hand on his. "You're making Big O sad."

"Huh?" Roger stopped and soon fell asleep in the chair.

"Well… That happened." Ray wasn't sure what else to say. No, she couldn't say anything really.

Off in the distance, a pink and black car drove away, an angered Angel inside. "Damned Negotiator, if not for him we could have had all of it!"

In another direction Beck was driving back on his motorcycle towards the city using a different route, carrying as much booze and cigarettes as he could get before the hut came crashing down.

"Dammit, what a sweet score. Oh well, at least I can enjoy these with the gang when I get back. I'm going to make crowboy pay now. There's no way he isn't the dominus." Beck's sneer was downright cartoon villianish, but in the dark of evening it made him appear that much more threatening.

The next morning Roger had sobered up, but had an awful hangover. He went down to apologize to the old man.

"You know that his house was destroyed because of your drunken actions Roger." While Dorothy admonished Roger, Ray was poking around what was left to help the old man find anything of use.

"I'm sorry about your house. Could I make it up to you?" Roger wasn't certain having an alcohol loving old man ride back in Big O was a good idea, but Dorothy was right, he should at least offer to do something.

"No worries. It was just stuff." The old man had worked throughout the night and had made a sack to go. "But before you do, fancy a drink?"

He held out a bottle and two glasses, and for a moment Roger got excited before his hangover headache kicked back in. "I'd best not."

"Well, suite yourself." He noticed Dorothy standing not far away and went over to greet her. "Hey there beautiful, fancy a drink?"

He grabbed her hands and noticed they were cold, and rather hard. Giving a strangely half concerned half amused facial expression he turned to Roger. "Say, sonny, when'd they start making synthetic chicks?"

Roger and Ray both laughed at the absurd comment before all three climbed aboard the Big to head home. When home Roger got an earful from Norman not only for piloting drunk, but for endangering the girls as well.

* * *

_My name is Roger Smith, I perform a much needed job in Paradigm City, the city of amnesia. 40 Years ago, everyone woke up with no recollection of how or why they ended up where they were, but humans are adaptable creatures. If they can figure out how to restore electricity, they can recreate some form of civilization._

_This negotiation is of a special kind; I was called in to get a kidnapping victim returned to the family. In truth, I've never been a fan of kidnapping cases as I find the entire idea of exchanging money for a person's safe return repulsive, but my reputation as the top negotiator in Paradigm counts on my taking these cases too. Well, that and the last time I took a kidnapping case I negotiated the return of a tempermental teenage android who would later become my maid and make my mornings hell, but I digress..._

Roger had been called in for a kidnapping negotiation. An extremely rich business man by the name of Wise had his adult son kidnapped, and he needed a negotiator to work with the kidnappers because they didn't want the police involved, but sometimes things don't go according to plan.

Roger had brought Dorothy with him for this negotiation, as he felt she might be able to pick up on something he might miss, and she had been proving herself rather useful recently. After having made an artist friend, who quickly fell to the wayside of stupidity, Dorothy did have new appreciation for the various mediums of art. There were many works of art in the mansion of the Wise family. Including a portrait of a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes in what looked like a pink formal evening gown. Dorothy stood gazing at it, hands clasped behind her back, much like a child looking up to some unknown figure.

What was unusual this time, was that Roger had forced Ray to come along, much to her consternation and confusion. At that moment, she had put herself into a corner of the room staring at and taking in everything, as she was more than a little anxious to have been brought along. Moreover, she felt her work attire of loose fitting t-shirt, black jeans and work boots, did not help her fit into the lavish surroundings of the Wise mansion. What with its gold filigree wallpaper, marble columns, paintings and other works of art scattered tastefully on the walls and statues displayed prominently on many surfaces. Ray found herself rather disgusted with the grandiose opulence of it all.

"_Geez, half of these works of art should be in a museum." _She couldn't help but think that as she looked on at what was to play out before her with annoyance.

"Money's no object! Just get my son back." Dandy Wise was yelling at Roger when the phone started ringing.

"It might be the kidnappers." Roger picked up the receiver, "Hello?"

"Where's the money?" The voice on the other end sounded nasally to Roger, or like they were holding a rag in front of the speakers face.

"Money?" Roger looked over at Mister Wise, who was nodding his head frantically. "There's no money. The family is having financial problems." Next to Roger, Mister Wise made a terrified, then annoyed face, before finally grabbing the receiver from Roger.

"Hello? Hello!" He looked at the receiver in his hands and sounded he started screaming at Roger. "They hung up. You fool! I told you money was no object! Why would you say that?"

"I know you're angry Mister Wise, but if you give the kidnappers what they want then they have no reason to return your son." Roger was using his calm negotiation voice, not that it was having any effect.

"Just get out!" Mister Wise yelled while slamming the receiver down on the phone.

"Mister Wise..."

"Get out! You're fired, be gone from my sight this instant, you charleton!" With that the three left, which Ray was more than glad for.

"Ugh finally, I couldn't take it anymore in there." Ray sighed with relief as she buckled up in the back seat. It had been so dang stuffy in that mansion.

"You'd make a poor negotiator if you can't deal with others." Roger gave an amused smile while buckling in himself. Dorothy just looked in the mirror to see Ray's facial expressions change to annoyance as she took in that statement.

"I don't want your job, Roger." Ray sighed as she settled into the seat and tried to relax, she had been on edge the whole time she was in the Wise mansion. "I can deal with the rich just fine, it was the overall opulence and 'too much of all the good things' atmosphere of that place being foisted on me from every angle I couldn't take."

"If you say so. Well, for now we'll go back home. Norman should have lunch ready by the time we get back." Roger revved the Griffin's engine and off the three went.

* * *

Ray was dealing with junk, as per normal. Chores, trying to find out more about her situation, or at least what was able to be found. Junk may not have been the best word for it, but Ray felt like her life had slowly become a chore of sifting through dirt and preamble that was a long story in order to find her way home.

Life had taken a strange tone for her. She actually did like living in the Smith household, not minding the chores she had to do to stay, as it was an effective means at taking her mind off the pressing sense of doom she felt the longer she was around the main characters. That, and even Dorothy's attempts to oust her had little effect now. Whether that meant Dorothy had finally accepted her, or was just planning something more effective at removing Ray, she couldn't be sure. But she had more pressing matters to deal with today. Norman had assigned her dinner prep this evening, so Ray had to prepare ingredients and make dinner if Norman was still preoccupied elsewhere.

She finished the ingredient prep early, put what needed to be kept cold in the fridge, and went up to the penthouse to see what else should be done. Norman wasn't there, but Roger was in painters smock with a paint palette and a canvas in front of him. Dorothy was posed in a chair in front of him.

"Is it a good idea Roger?" Amazing how she could stay still and hold an entire conversation at the same time.

"Is what a good idea Dorothy?"

"Keeping Wise mad at you."

"Oh that? He'll call back soon enough, in the meantime I'll indulge in some hobbies. Speaking of which, what inspired this Dorothy? What made you suddenly decide to pose for a painting?" Roger was mixing what Ray could only assume was oil paint on a handheld palette. She drifted over slowly to take a peek. "Well, I have to admit, no one comes close to being able to hold a pose like you do."

"No reason really." Dorothy was holding still for most of this, only her eyes moving to follow Ray as she slowly moved closer to them. Her right hand under her chin, left tucked into the crook of the right arm, legs crossed at the ankles. Honestly if Ray hadn't known better she would've thought her a statue.

"Maybe because her artist friend lacked talent?" Ray mused and was almost behind Roger now, and when she got a look at the painting it was every bit as silly an impressionist piece and an awful knock off Picasso as she remembered it would become. "Though he was probably better at it than you."

"Really Ray?"

"Don't blame me that you suck, did you even do an outline first?"

Roger sighed, "You know someday you'll actually act like a woman and behave yourself."

"I refuse. And for that matter, you'll never see me in a dress either." Ray gave a sarcastic smile. "If you want a prim and proper girl go after Dorothy and leave me alone."

"Why would I want Dorothy?" Roger had turned his head to argue with Ray, and missed what transpired behind him. At that comment Dorothy's eyes narrowed just the tiniest bit, and of course Roger was paying no attention and missed the eyes of doom. Ray just shook her head and shrugged.

"There really is no helping you. Perhaps I should prepare a eulogy for your eventual demise."

"Master Roger," Norman came into the room at that point carrying a telephone on a tray, "A Dandy Wise is on the phone."

"See Dorothy, I told you he would call back soon enough." Roger picked up the receiver after a short conversation said, "Norman, I'll be going out. And you two are going with me." He turned back and pointed at the two teenagers.

"What? Oh not again!" Ray protested. "What are you even doing, forcing me along with you? Taking Dorothy with you makes sense, she forgets nothing and has super strength. I got nothing of importance."

"Just come along. Maybe you'll learn something."

"_Like how to kick your ass." _Ray thought, but knew fighting wouldn't work so she trudged along. "_Maybe this time I can stay in the car."_

Soon enough the three were back at the Wise mansion and sadly for Ray, she was not allowed to stay in the car.

Dorothy was standing in front of the painting again, staring up at the woman in pink. She was already short, but she appeared miniscule in front of the large portrait. Ray had taken refuge in the corner again, feeling like she stood out too much in a place where she should have been hiding. Roger stood patiently waiting for his client to speak.

Dandy Wise paced a bit before stopping to look at the portrait, and then faced Roger. "Mr. Smith, there's something I need to tell you, about the case that is."

"You paid the kidnappers, but they haven't returned your son, is that it?"

"Yes, how did you know?" Dejectedly he took a seat and crossed his arms, upset and acting somewhat like a child.

"It's a simple principle really. Tell someone that something they value is worth something, and then ask them to pay more." Roger wandered over to a gold statue of a woman with many arms. "This statue looks expensive, probably worth a fortune."

"It's worth well over a hundred thousand dollars." Wise harrumphed indignantly.

"Ok then, let's say someone wants to buy this statue, and you quoted them that price." Roger gestured to the many armed woman statute. "They gladly pay it. What do you end up thinking? 'Oh darn, I should have asked for more if they thought that was a good deal.'"

"What of it? What's your point?"

"That's what the kidnappers think of Francis. Something you're willing to pay extra for, so if you give into their demands the first time, they'll just come back asking for another payment." Roger adjusted his sunglasses, "The fact they didn't return your son proves this."

"Gah, well it's a little late for that advice now."

"I tried to warn you." Roger just shook his head in mock dismay. Really this was fairly common in kidnappings, not that Roger liked it one bit. Just then the phone rang loudly, making all the room's occupants, save Dorothy, jump a little. "That's probably the kidnappers asking for another payment."

Roger went to the phone and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Put Wise on the phone." The nasally voice demanded.

"I need proof Francis is alive first." Roger was trying to parley with the kidnappers, but had a feeling they were not playing fair.

"Hey, that voice. I know who you are. That negotiator." The click of a gun's hammer being pulled back into the firing position. "Put Wise on the phone now or the hostage gets it."

"Fine, fine." Roger handed the receiver to Wise.

"Yes, yes I understand. Ok. Yes I'll do that then, please just wait a while." Wise hung up.

"You gave into the kidnappers demands didn't you?" Roger was of course disappointed. The chances of the hostage being returned unharmed were slimming by the second.

"You don't understand, if I didn't give in they were going to kill Francis. Also they made a request. They want you to deliver the ransom in person. If you don't…" Wise looked rather upset.

"Fine. Have it prepared. If they want it delivered there's a good chance they plan to return him." _At least I hope that's their plan. I have a gut feeling this situation is about to get hairy._

The three occupants were on their way to a cabin in the woods, in one of the mountains that surrounded and was part of Paradigm City to the west of the main island and districts. It wasn't close to the main hub of industry that was for sure.

"This isn't going to end well." Ray was fidgety in the back seat. She begged Roger to drop her at home this time as well, but he had insisted she come along, for whatever reason.

"You'll be fine." Roger was getting a bit fed up with Ray's whining and moping around the house as of late and hoped getting out would make her less so. It seemed to be having the opposite effect.

"You're bringing your teenage ward and a teenage employee to a hostage negotiation. In what world is that fine?"

"Just think of this as extra billable hours."

"Whatever." Ray rolled her eyes before burying her head in a book she had brought along. Figuring it would get her out of the conversation.

Soon the three arrived at the isolated log style cabin in the snowy mountains outside the city. It was a fairly nice log cabin, two stories, what looked like a few fireplace chimneys. As soon as Roger and Dorothy stepped out of the car, the ring of a gun firing once could be heard.

"Ray, get out of the car and follow us inside." Roger growled under his breath.

"Are you insane?"

"If you stay in the car you're a sitting target. Now come one."

"Ugh, fine." Ray followed the two into the cabin, slowly, letting Roger and Dorothy kick down doors and do the stealth work respectively.

"Uhhh." An injured man was moaning on the floor.

"Francis!" Roger went over to examine the injured man. "Hang in there Francis, we'll get you out of here and back to town soon."

Dorothy went over and put the injured man's head in her lap, and undid his bindings so he wouldn't be defenseless.

_Oh goodie. Pretty sure I know what comes next._ Ray wasn't too excited about it. Suddenly from the windows lights flashed to life, and sirens from military police vehicles could be heard.

"Roger Smith! We know you're in there, come out with your hands up and surrender!" Dastun yelled into his megaphone, lowering it he muttered quietly, "Come on Rog, don't do anything stupid."

"Oh darn, it appears we've been set up, Dorothy, Ray, let's get out of here." He fiddled with his watch and the sound of the Griffin roaring to life outside could be clearly discerned from all the shocked MP's jumping away from the now driverless and moving vehicle. The three started running down the hallway towards the back exit.

"I should've known this was a setup when they wanted to meet at the cabin." Roger puffed as he ran along.

"Uh huh." Dorothy didn't seem interested.

"It's Beck that's behind this, that guy can really hold a grudge." Dorothy gave Roger a sidelong glance as she kept pace. Ray was a little behind them.

"Oh great, now we're on the run from the cops. Can my day get any worse?" Ray whined.

"Uh huh." Dorothy mumbled, which was what let Ray know it was definitely about to get worse. And with that the three had to jump out the window to land in the Griffon. Roger landed in the driver's seat, Dorothy held onto the edge of the sunroof before flipping herself inside into the passenger's seat. Ray had miraculously managed to grab the side of the sunroof on the passenger's side of the car, her feet pressed against the back wheel wells hump so as to not fall off, and climbed into the back through the passenger window, once Roger put it down for her as Dorothy clearly didn't feel like doing so.

"Couldn't've let me in any sooner Dorothy."

"I didn't see a need to let you in, you were doing fine outside."

"Oh fu-"

"Not now Ray!" Roger was irate as he switched his radio to pick up Military Police channels.

"The suspect is fleeing in a two door black sedan, license plate R-33, along Old Mountain Road." Colonel Dan Dastun's voice could be heard from the radio. Roger flipped some switches in the car and it appeared a dark maroon, and the window tint let up a bit, additionally the license plate changed too, with it flipping over to a different plate.

"What will you do now Roger?" Dorothy stared straight ahead as Roger took the mountain roads curves at a high speed with relative ease.

"I think it's time we paid another visit to Mister Wise." Roger seemed to growl.

"Francis had blue eyes." Dorothy piped up after a minute or so of silence.

"Well, family members can have different features Dorothy. Hair colors, height, those sorts of things, so it's not unusual for… No wait. Wise said that Francis was born forty years ago, after the Event. So that means…"

"That means what?" Dorothy just stared straight ahead as she always did.

"That means I have a whole new set of questions for Wise."

In the back seat Ray had finally calmed down from the adrenaline rush that was jumping into a moving vehicle. "Dorothy?"

"Yes?"

"When we get back home, assuming I survive this ordeal, I am giving you the asskicking of your life. And Norman can stuff it."

"Ray that's not very-"

"And you can stuff it too stupid! I told you I didn't want to be here or get dragged along on one of your jobs. Yet do you listen? No of course not, macho man knows best and doesn't listen to frail human girls problems because he somehow equates human girls to mechanical girls survival aptitude for taking a beating, hells if I know how." Ray started to calm down after ranting a little. "But seriously, what the ever loving fuck is wrong with you two? It's like you're taking turns trying to get me killed."

For once, Dorothy's facial expressions were hard for Ray to read, not that she cared. Roger didn't bother lecturing Ray on language usage either, as at this point she had a reason to be upset and raising her voice as loud as she had. Roger had ignored her pleas to be allowed to stay home, and not to get involved in his work, and now the military police likely had a warrant out for the three of them. They got to the dome fast enough, and Ray was allowed to stay in the car while Roger and Dorothy went to question Wise.

"Mister Wise."

"Ah it's you two." He seemed a little taken aback by the fact two people had snuck up to the window without his security noticing. But he looked back up at the painting of the woman in a pink dress. "Francis is safe, and is at the hospital, I was just about to leave."

"You aren't really Francis father are you?"

He looked over at the two briefly again. "No. I'm not. Forty years ago, on the day everyone woke up without their memories, I was here in this mansion, and she was here with me." He seemed like he was looking at his own past then, "Waking up without knowing who or where you are is terrifying. But because we woke up together in this mansion alone, and had no one else to rely on, we quickly fell in love. Francis was born a few months later, and she died not long after he was born. I... I was merely trying to protect the boy from the ridicule and shame."

"I see, so that's why." Roger grimaced, he was familiar with the tales of what kids born during the first year or so of memory loss had gone through.

"Yes, you should know something. Not long after you left with the ransom payment, the kidnappers called for one last payment to be dropped off for them. They wanted it left at a warehouse in the West Industrial park… Huh?" When Wise looked over the two had gone without a sound.

"Time to pay those kidnappers a visit, and finish this quarrel with Beck." It was Rogers' turn to be angry.

"Roger, I have two questions for you."

"Huh, well that's unusual. Alright let's hear them."

"Why would Wise care for a child that isn't his?" Dorothy asked as she was getting buckled in, for once.

"Same reason Norman cares about us Dorothy." Ray spoke quietly from the back seat, not even bothering to peer from behind her book at them.

"What do you mean?"

"Family isn't always about who you're related to. It can be parents adopting a child, a bunch of roommates that are really close. Family can even be a strange group that's come together under whatever circumstances like the household we live in now." Roger laughed at Ray's explanation, but he found some truth in it.

"So… we are family?" Dorothy wasn't sure she liked the sound of that one bit.

"We have been for a while ya dunce. You're the only one that didn't seem to notice."

"Roger can we disown Ray?" Dorothy's head whipped to the drivers side so fast it felt as if there should be an after image.

"You are so-"

"Ok you two knock it off. And no we cannot disown Ray." Roger couldn't help it, but he was attempting to stifle his laughter at these two's antics. "Besides, if Ray is as skilled with machines as Norman and I think she is, you may be turning to her for repairs some day."

"Absolutely not!" Both girls said in unison, then Dorothy turned back in her seat to look at a rather confused Ray.

"Why would you even suggest that Roger?" Ray was not amused.

"I concur, you are good with computers, but that is not the same skills needed to be decent at android maintenance."

"Well, that's my fault for making assumptions then." Roger just shrugged. _Try and help these two get along and look where it lands me, figures. _"What's the second question?"

"Nevermind. It's not something you should answer with company. And it's a difficult question to answer."

"Uh… Alright then." _What in the world does she mean by that? _The car ride was silent the rest of the way.

Inside the aforementioned warehouse, Beck and his three minions were cackling up a storm.

"Ahahahaha! That old crowboy ain't even going to know what hit him." Beck was laughing hard and clapping his feet together in an intimidation of a barking seal.

"But Boss, what if he ya know, actually finds us?" T-bone questioned his boss's jovial nature at this most inopportune time.

"That's not going to happen fellas, the police already have him in custody by now, soon we'll never have to see crowboy again."

"Hey Boss, what's that sound?" Dove thought he heard tires screeching.

"What sound?" Just then the Griffin came through the wall behind them, did a 180 turn when it landed and was facing the three stooges and Beck. A brick hit T-bone square in the face while Yume jumped aside. The doors opened and two black clad people Beck just loved to hate stepped out.

"Well if it isn't Roger Smith, and look little Ms Dorothy too." Beck crooned as the two stepped out of the car. "How nice of you to drop by."

"Oh Mista B, she looks just like a doll? Are we keeping her?" Yume, for whatever reason, thought Dorothy was cute, like a children's well kept doll kind of cute.

"We sure are sweety, right after we get rid of-"

BANG! A bullet zoomed by within an inch of Beck's ear.

"Uhhh! What the hell, who are you?" A young woman Beck didn't recognize had stepped out of the car, and was standing next to Dorothy with a gun in hand, and recently fired at that. Beck eyed her quick glance and guessed she'd be about the same age as Dorothy was meant to be, and she wasn't hard on the eyes. Not easy either. In his eyes, she was average over all, save for that bust! Black t-shirts weren't hiding her stacked rack. Beck's mind started racing to lecherous thoughts of what he would do with her once crowboy was dealt with.

"That was a warning shot, next one isn't missing, drop your weapons right now and surrender or the next one is splattering your brains on the brick wall behind you. I will not repeat myself."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Beck quickly abandoned ideas of fun, this bitch was crazy, and he had a rule about crazy.

"The woman your very existence is pissing off." She hoped he couldn't tell she was bluffing. Ray couldn't stand blood, much less wanton violence, but if it was enough to force surrender let him believe she would blow his brains out.

"Well no matter, you can die with crowboy." Beck didn't know this woman, but there was an unmistakable fire of murderous intent in those eyes. Her finger started to tighten on the trigger, Beck slammed his foot into a hidden button below the piles of cash he and his cronies were playing in, but as soon as he did she fired another shot, sadly thanks to having to jump out of the way of the falling crane Ray had missed her chance to mortally wound Beck.

"Jump!" Roger yelled as the crane slammed into the roof of the Griffon and totalled it. "Ah, no Dorothy." A magnet had been close to the crane, and activated at the same time, making Dorothy appear to float into the air. Ray had dodged backwards in an attempt to avoid both options.

"Ahaha, who's dying now!" Beck cajoled. Not that he would be for long. Roger flung himself at Beck, only for Beck to get out of the way. The cronies had run off to either side, save for Yume, who had another target in mind. While Beck fiddled with a remote that brought the magnet and Dorothy, closer to the giant hook he was standing on, Roger could only watch in horror as he inserted some kind of gaudy gold tiara into the cd drive in her head, this was the night her father died all over again. "Well, time to make your worst nightmares come true."

"Argh, you monster." Roger moaned as he got up. Beck had managed to get in a sucker punch to his stomach. Dorothy dropped onto the crate in front of him as the magnet was turned off. Soon as she was down, she bent over, grabbed the shoulder of Roger's blazer, and unceremoniously dragged him up onto the crate with her, dropping him with a thunk.

"Uh, Dorothy?" Something was wrong, her eyes had a purple glow to them.

"Damnable bastard. Shouldn't have fired a warning shot." Ray had dodged the crane, but still had the wind knocked out of her when she fell, as the force of the crane falling sent her flying with the rush of wind it had produced. She had finally managed to drag herself to her feet when she saw Beck on a metal hook in the air above her. "Better make this one count I guess."

"Oh no you don't!" Yume hopped into view then, swinging her purse at Ray. Ray was too weak to be jumping around while still trying to catch her breath, so she just blocked the purse instead.

"Are you stupid? I have a gun! I could kill you, what do you think a purse is gonna do you dumb blonde? There aren't even bricks in there." Ray couldn't help yelling at the young blonde woman whose name she didn't know. After all, in the world Ray knew of, her name was Yam, and she didn't think anyone would be dumb enough to name their kid after food.

"Why would I put bricks in my purse?" The woman yelled back.

"You really are stupid." Ray could only look on in disappointed disbelief at the woman in front of her. She couldn't be that much older than Ray. "Look, just move your ass outta my way. You aren't my target and I don't want any more weight in my soul than killing that rat bastard is going to cause me to carry."

"I'm not letting you kill Mista B. What'd he ever do to you anyhow?"

"Killed my best friend's father, forcing her into a life of servitude to a rude jerk that verbally abuses her constantly, and as far as I know, only has dealt with it because she is too traumatized to do otherwise and thinks the jerk is handsome."

"Geez. You need therapy."

"No, well yes, but it's my friend that needs therapy. And right now she's also trying to kill said handsome jerk." Ray pointed. For whatever reason Yume glanced behind to the scene playing out.

"Rog..er." It sounded wrong. Like she was being forced to speak.

"Dorothy, are you alright?" Suddenly Dorothy threw her arms around his waist. "Now's not the time for a hug Dorothy."

"Rog..er… I love you…" She started squeezing him.

"Huh!" He was a little too stunned to respond as she started to give him a back cracking bear hug.

"Ro..ger…"

"Ow, Dorothy, snap out of it that hurts." Her grip got tighter. "Come on, remember.. Who you.. Are." It was getting harder to breathe, and Roger heard a few of his ribs cracking.

Beck, up on his littler perch, played with the pen that seemed like a controller device, "Bye bye, crowboy." He turned the pen a notch.

Somewhere inside Dorothy's functions, a part of her was still there, and seeing the agonized and pleading look in Roger's eyes, she forced an emergency shutdown, making herself defenseless, but ultimately she knew it would stop the headband from controlling her.

"Ah." She gave a small gasp and did the android equivalent of fainting.

"Huh?" Beck started turning the pen top furiously before it exploded in his hand. "Grr, whatever! Just get up here!" The ground started to rumble.

"Dang it. Hey you better get out of here woman." With that Ray ran to help Roger get Dorothy out of the warehouse.

"Hey, I said get up here already!" Beck yelled before the ground burst from under him and his henchmen, Yume had joined them and clambered into the cockpit with them.

"Now then, where is he," Beck scanned the surroundings to find Roger and Ray supporting Dorothy on either side and running to another building, "There you are. If I can't get your android lover to crush you, I'll do it myself."

"Dang she's heavy." It was Rogers' turn to whine after all that had happened a few minutes before.

"Yeah, well why do you think I'm helping you." Ray grunted. Dorothy really did weigh a lot, but it's not like Ray had ever tried to pick her up before. The two struggled to get into another smaller warehouse, and Big O burst forth from the ground to lend them a hand into his cockpit.

"I'll get her settled, you deal with that thing." Ray soon had Dorothy set down on the side of the cockpit, and tried to keep her balance during the upcoming fight.

"Big O, Showtime!" With that it began. Roger took some swings at Becks Victory whatever the hell it was called this time. His naming scheme had gotten as convoluted as a light novel title as far as Ray was concerned. "I'm going to put you back where you belong, behind bars."

"Like that'll work." Beck seemed pleased. With the money that his followers had gained from scams, and his own maganations, Beck had added quite a few new tricks to the Beck Victory Deluxe Ultra's arsenal. "Dove, use the fingers."

"Well if you say so boss." Dove wiggled his fingers like playing an invisible piano.

"I don't think he meant it like that Dove." Yume deadpanned.

"I know what he meant, can't anybody take a joke around here?" Dove activated the finger guns, but they didn't leave a scratch on Big O.

"Er, how about this then?" Beck pushed a button, sending a volley of missiles from the knee caps into the ground, and a series of explosions went off on the ground around Big O's feet and crumbled the pavement he stood on, knocking him over.

"Oh yeah, now let's follow it up with this: laser beam eyes! A trick out of your own book Black Megadeus." Beck hit a button on his console that activated the laser beam eyes, but all it did when it hit Big O's orange glass crown was to deflect the beam into a nearby dome.

"No way. It just bounced right off." Beck couldn't even comprehend such a thing.

"What'd we do now boss?" T-bone was quaking in his seat.

"Isn't it obvious you fools. Run!" The torso of the Beck Victory Deluxe Ultra and it started running away in such a ridiculous fashion.

"Even I have limits to my patience you punks." Roger was gritting his teeth as he set about working to defeat Becks equally as gaudy as his clothing robot. First he had Big O use the pile drivers to upright himself, then he shot a hip anchor at the fleeing machine, hitting it in the back, as Roger tried to use Big O's hands to pull the chain back, Beck's machine turned it's arms 180 and fired another volley of shots, though it did little more than leave surface scratches on the Megadeus. Some of the warehouses nearby caught fire as the two continued to slug it out.

"Crap, he's not letting us go." Beck was furiously trying to loosen the anchor and had an idea. "Hey T-Bone, maneuver the eye lasers to focus on the chain."

"Got it boss."

"Great, Dove, get ready to fire them and rebalance after this." Beck hit the charge button for the lasers. "We'll be running as soon as the chain is melted to slag!"

Beck hit the laser button as soon as the charge indicator was full, and the lasers melted through the steel of the chains. "Freedom here we come!"

"Oh no you don't!" Roger fired a second hip anchor as soon as the laser had focused on the first, and using all of Big O strength, pulled the gaudy golden robot right into his right hand, used the left hand to yank the anchor out and set off a pile driver into the Beck Victory Deluxe Ultra's head, separating it from the now practically destroyed body.

* * *

"Dammit this is going to be a lot of paperwork." Back at the military police depart outside the domes, Colonel Dan Dastun finished the dregs of his coffee, crumbled the cup and tossed it in the can, all while reading the report his men had written about the incident. _A car that can drive itself. I know Roger has money, but where does he get all the fancy toys he has? Norman can't make all of them can he?_

Outside a clamour of noise drew closer to the station, shaking it as whatever made the noise drew closer. _Ke-chang, ke-chang._ Heavy metal feet walked ever slowly towards the station.

"What!?" Dastun ran outside to be greeted by an unusual sight. "What? The Black Megadeus! Wait what is he holding?"

Soon Big O dropped what he was holding at the doorstep of the police station, and a large golden head with it's face missing fell to the ground with a huge thud.

"Ugh." Beck and his cronies groaned in pain.

"Beck? Wait how?" Dastun peered up from the broken head towards the Black Megadeus before he plodded away.

"This is going to be such a headache and too much paperwork." Dastun sighed before yelling at some subordinates to bring med kits and handcuffs.

At home Norman was waiting on the catwalk for his master's return. Soon as the prairie dog returned and the Big O was back in place, the orange glass neck piece opened and out walked a rather disheveled Roger and Ray, trying not to drop a still unconscious Dorothy. Norman had thought ahead upon hearing the situation and had brought a wheeled stretcher capable of holding the gynoids' weight.

Soon they had the knocked out gynoid on a mechanical work table and Norman set about analyzing the gold tiara that had been taken from Dorothy's head, and examining the components while also running what amounted to a medical diagnostic on the sleeping teen.

"Hm, it appears to be a device meant to over power her logic circuits, but the parts are faulty or subpar, which caused them to short circuit." Norman was using a jewelers lense to examine the board inside the broken contraption.

"No, Dorothy did that all on her own." Roger had shoved his hands in his pockets while he leaned against the surface of one of the many workbenches lining the room.

"Ah, quiet right." The jeweler's lense fell from his eye, held to his waistcoat by a chain. "With that said, to prevent this from happening again perhaps it would be best to swap out Ms Dorothy's memory circuits. Of course, it comes with the risk of her losing some of her memories."

"No, that's all right Norman. Leave her as she is."

"Yes sir."

* * *

A few days later Dorothy was back to normal, but it did take a while for her to reboot. She walked up towards the lounge to find the painting Roger had been working on before, this time the eyes had been finished. But much as Ray had said before, it really did suck, for lack of a better term. On the patio, a coatless and robeless Roger was staring out over the city.

"I see you painted in the eyes."

"Yeah, you feel better now Dorothy."

"I seem to be fine."

"Well, there's that. Oh I've been wondering, what was that second question you wanted to ask me?" Roger turned to face her.

"Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Why not? It can't be that difficult to answer, and we don't seem to have an audience."

"If you and I lost our memories, would we have fallen in love?"

"Oh, um, well you see…" Roger turned away and tried to avoid the question.

"I warned you it was a difficult question."

Even later that evening, Ray was finally finished with all the assigned work she had been expected to do. Since Dorothy had been out of commission for a few days Ray had been made to pick up the slack and had to do both their chores.

"Uh, I am so tired." Ray sank into the lounge chair to let her sore body unwind. "Is Dorothy awake yet? I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."

"I've been awake for a few hours." From behind the chair a familiar monotone rang out.

"Wah!" Ray couldn't help jumping when someone appeared behind her. "Would you quit sneaking up on me?"

"You do make it rather easy."

"Ugh."

"Enough you two." Norman came into the lounge bearing a tray of tea. "I'll say, you can be rather tiring to deal with at times."

"Sorry." Ray took her tea without further complaint and drained it quickly. "I'm just frustrated and exhausted."

"Understandable, you have been doing more work recently. As well as keeping up with your training."

"Oh Ray, you mentioned something about kicking my ass when back home." At Dorothy's words Ray's face went from exhausted to exasperated to finally disappointed.

"Is that what we're gonna do today? Are we going to fight? Ok fine then. I'm going to get grounded for cursing in front of you again anyway, so I may as well do the thing and just take my punishments all at once." Ray got up and stalked memisingly towards Dorothy.

"What will you-"

Before Dorothy could finish her question, Ray swept her legs from under her, quickly turned around while crouched, thrust her hips back towards the gynoids, grabbed an outstretched arm that Dorothy had put out to balance herself, and slung Dorothy to the ground over her back onto her metal behind with a rather loud thud.

"-do?" She just laid there for a bit, unsure of how to process what had happened, beforing sitting up and getting up.

"Ok Norman, do whatever, I got it out of my system now." Ray sat back down and ignored the stares she was getting for that sudden physical display, instead choosing to drain another cup of tea.

We Have Come to Terms

* * *

I made Beck a bigger jerk in this because I feel like his manga personality works well as a villain. But just plain evil or deranged doesn't work well, so I upped the ante so to speak.


	16. Insert story: Flowers for Machines

I had this in my head and had to write it. Song for this chapter is Weight of the World/ End of YorHa.

* * *

Dorothy had been acting strange all week. Ray wasn't sure why, but she intended to find out. Instead of making Ray's life hell or miserable by making fun of her, odd wake up calls, or letting Robin pee in her shoes, Dorothy had done nothing at all. Perhaps it was because Ray had finally stood up for herself with a show of physicality earlier that week, but it was so out of character that Ray was beginning to get worried. So she started to keep an eye on her friend. Ray was right to be worried, as Dorothy left the house rather late that late autumn evening wearing her thick black cloak, and it wasn't windy or rainy.

_Suspicious_. Ray felt herself thinking that as she tailed Dorothy. At some point in the stealth mission Dorothy realized she was being followed and sped up to lose Ray. Not that it would work; Dorothy had a tracker built in by her maker long before Ray ever met her, and the watch which Ray had taken from Roger's used and beat up devices earlier worked well enough. So long as she was within 40 meters Ray could easily track her wayward friend.

Eventually Ray caught up with Dorothy in the deserted part of the warehouse district near the fishing piers. She watched from behind some crates and oil barrels as Dorothy went into the building, but not before seeming to be grilled by an android guard at the door.

_What in the world is Dorothy doing out here anyways, this is pretty far from home, and it's almost midnight. Moreover, what could she possibly want in a run down warehouse that's got a guard posted?_ Ray was too lost in thought to notice two more android guards.

When the two approached her from behind they made little noise, and quickly shoved a black sack over Ray's face, obstructing her vision. Ray tried to fight back, but it was two on one, and both easily twice as strong as she was. Soon they had Ray's hands tied tightly behind her back, and one of the two picked her up and carried her off.

"How'd this kid find us?" The voice was masculine, but the speaker that was its voice box sounded like it would fail at any moment.

"How should I know?" This other one had a masculine voice too, but it sounded less rough, but still gruff.

"This is highly unnecessary, you could have just escorted me you know!" Ray wasn't struggling now, but she wasn't happy about it either. No point in struggling when your opponents would easily beat you, and you had little chance of escape. Besides, unlike humans, androids weren't likely to harm her physically, more than they had at any rate. Unless they were malfunctioning they wouldn't do to her any more than they had, maybe tie her to a chair in the worst case scenario.

Soon she heard a metallic door creak open, and a myriad of voices inside. Many sounded shocked, or disturbed, but there was a central theme to the discontent.

"What's going on?"

"Is that a human?"

"How did a human find this place?"

"How did a human know to look here at this time of night?"

"What is happening?" Ray asked her captors. Not long after that she was plopped on the ground and the mask removed. "Huh!"

All around her were androids. Most looked dressed out of season, maybe to hide their features, but everyone was definitely androids, save for the one human, hands tied and on the floor.

"What… what in the world?" Ray looked around at the sea of immovable faces surrounding her.

"How did you find this place?" The gruff voiced guard poked Ray in the back with what looked like a quarterstaff. It was probably just a plywood dowel rod from the hardware store though. "Answer before we knock you out."

"I was following my friend…"

"Who is the android you followed? Tell us!" The other android with the not so working voice box prodded her too.

"What are you two doing? Unhand her." An male android familiar to Ray stepped forward.

"Instro? You're here too?" It was indeed Instro, but he was wearing his winter beige coat and thick woolen pants. But he also had a beige fedora on, and had Ray not heard his voice she would not have recognized him, as it hid his features well.

"So he isn't the one you followed? Well, never mind that."

"Instro is-" Ray was panicking and struggling against the rope used to tie her hands together.

"Quiet!" The gruff one started poking her again.

"That's enough." A feminine voice spoke from behind Instro, and Dorothy stepped into view, her face covered by her hood, but there was no mistaking the voice.

"Dorothy, you're ok! What's going on?" Ray had now maneuvered the watchs knob to the miniature knife notch, and hoped her plan would work.

"You can let her go, she won't cause trouble." Dorothy ignored Ray's pleas and questions.

"Like hell we can. She followed you here you fool! And if we let her go she might squeal, we have to keep her quiet for now and deal with her later. Now then-" As the gruff voiced one swung his pole down at Ray she dodged aside, finally came free of her trappings, and got up to face the two armed androids in a battle stance.

"Come on now, this isn't necessary. If you keep attacking me like that it's going to affect your processing systems and you might crash. Just stop," Ray was in what looked like a boxer's stance, but her hands were open, left palm vertical in front of her face, right arm down at her side. She kept bouncing between the balls of her feet and the forefoot.

"It's a risk we'll have to take." The broken voiced bot said as he too took a swing. Ray nimbly dodged to the left and grabbed the pole as it went by her, yanked it from the androids hands, spun around while also spinning the staff, smacked the gruff androids wrists lightly so as only to startle him and forced him to drop the staff. Once it clattered to the ground Ray spun the staff with a surprising amount of athleticism to those watching, forcing the pole into the air, spun the staff again and sent it flying into a wall and out of reach to the androids that had taken her hostage, and then took a step back while spinning the staff into an offensive position and aiming it at the two that had taken her hostage with her back to Dorothy and Instro.

"Gah dammit." The broken voiced one whined.

Ray looked angry, scowling like a corner wolf, and there was fire in her eyes. Those two knew they would be in trouble if Ray reported them and knew she had every right as an attacked human to do as she wanted to them, but instead of attacking them, Ray relaxed her posture, swung the pole up behind her neck and lazily rested her wrists over it. "I think that's enough violence to last me a week. Now then, would anyone be so kind as to explain what was so important you'd hurt a human to keep it secret. Or am I going to be shot next?"

"Gladly Ms Ray." Instro spoke quietly from behind her.

"Ms? Since when did you call me that?" Ray looked perplexed.

"Well, since this could turn into a rather nasty…"

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm not going to press charges or anything, so just tell me what's going on please." There was a relieved murmur that spread through the crowd, like they couldn't believe a human would be that forgiving. Not that Ray could blame them, the law was rather harsh towards androids that harmed a human, even accidentally.

"Is she really going to let them go?"

"Can we trust her?"

"OI, settle down! Instro and this young android seem to trust the human girl, so if they say she's alright then let's put our faith in them." An android Ray couldn't recognize spoke from what looked like a hastily raised platform at the back of the warehouse. He, for it spoke with a deep masculine voice, looked much older than the other droids in the room that Ray could see. He was worn down in many ways, some rust on his surface, one of his eyes was flickering as if it would go out, and was using a cane made of what was presumably metal to stand upright, and had a chair behind him.

"Thank you sir. Now then," Instro turned his attention to Ray, "You must be aware of this by now, but this entire warehouse is filled with androids." Ray nodded. "Well, this isn't so easy to say, but there's a reason we are all here now, and why we are avoiding human contact. You probably aren't aware of this living in a privileged way as you do, but Paradigm City government doesn't like when androids assemble and refuse humans entry, for fear we might be planning a revolt. They even offer humans who find such meetings a substantial reward."

Ray tilted her head to the side quizzically, "So that's why they were trying to knock me out, but what are you doing here in an abandoned warehouse? I can't imagine you are actually planning a revolt or anything of that sort."

"True, we are not. We are here for a much more benign purpose. This is a gathering held once a year by the androids in this city, to remember those we lost, commiserate with each other, and celebrate that which we still have." Instro looked around the room, and many androids were nodding in agreement with what he had said.

"And because the city wouldn't let you do this publicly you do so in secret?"

"Correct."

"Ok, I think I am beginning to understand a little more now. Is that why you've been acting weird and distant all week Dorothy?"

"I'm not the weird one. You're the one who stalked an android all the way across town."

"I only did that cause you were being secretive and more distant than normal!" Ray's voice went up and octave and she pointed an accusatory finger in Dorothy's direction.

"That doesn't give you an excuse for following me." Dorothy crossed her arms and looked annoyed with Ray's response.

"I was worried about you ok! Geez."

"Why would you be worried for my sake?" Now it was Dorothy's turn to tilt her head in confusion.

"You're pretty much the only friend I have in this world, so when you start acting weird of course I'm going to worry about you." Ray puffed her cheeks out, pouting at Dorothy's lack of concern or care for how Ray felt in this situation.

"Did a human just call an android her friend?"

"They bicker like sisters don't they."

"That human is definitely weird, but she can't be so bad if she sees an android as a friend."

All of the dissonant whispers of a hundred voices reached Ray's ears, as if carried by a breeze. Yet she couldn't help but be disheartened. _Are they truly treated so terribly that a single human showing compassion and decency is worthy of note._

"Ok, so I accidentally stumbled on your yearly remembrance ceremony when stalking you to make sure you were ok. Sorry about that alright. Are we all good now?" Ray raised her voice a little when speaking that last question, turning to the elderly android who seemed to be in charge of the whole affair.

"Indeed we are. Let the celebration of mechanical life commence!" With that, loud music was played by a band of androids on stage. It wasn't deafening, but it was certainly loud enough that had it not been late, and in a deserted part of town, the gathering would be easy to find. Ray drifted over to a corner and leaned against the wall there, watching those gathered as the night went on.

Dorothy was fairly popular, as many androids wanted to dance with her as the night went on. It was the first time in a long time Ray could remember seeing Dorothy smile or laugh. Many of the older models would ask her various questions such as "'Are you being treated well? Who made you? Oh, sorry for asking such a painful question. You are well cared for by your humans? That one here...'" And the like went on for much of the night. Ray was getting sleepy while relaxing in the corner as the music played was rather relaxing, but she forced herself awake. Around three in the morning, the eldery android spoke again.

"My fellow mechanical beings-" His voice boomed out over the crowd, and a hush fell, "We are gathered here today not just in celebration of surviving as a dying race for yet another year, but also to remember those we lost, and be grateful that there is even one new life amongst us." A murmur rippled through the crowd, no doubt he meant Dorothy. "Yet now, we must show some remorse to our flesh made fellow, for we have seen in her grace. It was entirely wrong of us to judge her simply because she was human, just as it is wrong for humans to judge us based on being born of metal."

Ray couldn't help but feel like she was in a church for robots. _I swear if he starts chanting "This cannot continue" I am dragging Instro and Dorothy out of here pronto._ Thankfully Ray's fears went unconfirmed.

"As my final act tonight, as this year's leader, will be to ask for one among us to sing. A solemn song to send us off into another year, and a reminder that we may yet survive, if only memories of our creators could be returned to us."

_This is a fucking cult._ Ray couldn't stop that thought and alarm bells from going off in her mind. She noticed Dorothy went up to the stage, and Ray began slithering her way through the crowd towards the front. Dorothy went on stage with no real prompting. _Is she... Was she invited here to sing at the end? _Ray waited at the stairs and watched for anything that seemed off. Yet all she saw was her friend, standing quietly on the stage waiting for her introduction to be over.

"This young one is barely two years active, and yet she has had a rough go of things. We thought to invite her to sing whatever came to her heart tonight, so that the voice of the young could be something for us older models to look forward to. Whenever you are ready dear."

Yet for a few minutes Dorothy just looked down at the stage floor, "I don't think…" She felt a hand on her shoulder then, and looked up to see Ray giving her a more serious expression than Dorothy thought her capable of. Ray smiled at her then and looked out at the crowd.

"Well, I'm no android, but if you're willing I will teach you all a song forgotten by all in this city that I learned from androids." The crowd murmured, but the general consensus was that none were really against the idea. "Alright then, just a bit of warning I can barely carry a tune in a bucket." A chorus of laughter met the self deprecating remark before Ray burst into song.

_So we're going to shout it loud,_

_Even if our words seem meaningless,_

_It's like I'm carrying the weight of the world._

_I hope that some way somehow,_

_That I can save everyone of us,_

_But the truth is that I'm only one girl._

_Maybe if I keep believing _

_my dreams will come to life_

_Come to life._

A polite amount of applause met the end of the short tune. Ray just shifted under the feeling of stupidity and embarrassment that came down on her. Getting up in front of others and performing was not something she enjoyed, but for some unknown reason she had been compelled to. She quickly left the stage feeling her face turn a slight shade of pink from the blood rush, Dorothy was not far behind. Soon the festivities dispersed and the two headed home. Instro walked with them for a few blocks before a taxi driven by an android pulled up beside the three.

"Get in, it's not safe for anyone to be walking around here this late at night." The three gladly took the proffered ride. Instro's place was closer so he was dropped off first, then the two girls were let off at the mansion close to four in the morning.

"What do we owe you?" Ray asked when they pulled up.

"Don't worry about it. Just glad to make sure a decent human made it home safe for once."

"Uh huh. Ok here then, just call it a tip or gas money or whatever." Ray handed the unnamed taxi driving android a fifty and exited the vehicle, fumbling in her pocket for her house key as she climbed the steps.

"She's a weird human ain't she?"

"She is at that." Dorothy followed Ray inside, where a rather tired Norman was still waiting up for their return.

"And what exactly were you two doing out so late at night?" Norman looked less than thrilled with them. Dorothy remained silent, but Ray just yawned as she walked past to the elevator.

"At a concert with Instro." She hit the call button and the grated door opened.

"Is that so?" Norman and Dorothy followed her in.

"Well ask him yourself tomorrow. He's coming by isn't he?" Ray yawned again, a lot louder this time, her eyes getting that misty sleepy appearance. "Didn't expect it to last so long though."

"I see. Ms Dorothy, did it not occur to you to come home earlier?"

"It was a small private event, leaving early would have been rude." While Dorothy couldn't lie, or at least did not know she could yet, she had to build off the half truth Ray had used and find a way to tell as much of what occurred as she could while leaving some details out.

"Hm, well next time you two should let me know if you will be out late." Normans turn to yawn in exhaustion. He wasn't used to staying up this late without maintenance work to keep him occupied. He found the senseless worrying over these two to be just as much work as said maintenance.

"Yes sir," Ray mumbled as the elevator arrived at the servants quarters and she stumbled out to her room, "see ya later in the morning."

After both humans went to bed Dorothy took to staying in her room petting Robin and found herself lost in thought. While not unusual for her processes to run in thought loops when alone, she was stuck on a strange realization about Ray. Nothing she did or said ever really added up. _She mentioned before how there were no androids where she was from, so how was she taught a song no one in Paradigm would know from an android? Moreover, that song seemed rather forlorn, which isn't like Ray at all._

No matter how she looked at it, everything about Ray was wrong. Her supposed lack of memories, her seemingly random but useful abilities, without being told what was to come she could somehow rather accurately predict and respond to various dangerous situations that arose as a result of some of Rogers clientele, and how she could hear the Megadeus that rampaged through the city every month or so. Even her ability to talk to Big O felt wrong to Dorothy, but had you asked her what exactly was wrong with that she wouldn't know.

_It doesn't matter does it? She intends to leave here soon, right? At least she talks as if she'll be gone by the new year if she has any say in it. So why bother fretting over the mystery that is Ray? I'm falling into the mental traps Roger does. Finding a mystery that I feel needs solving and digging until I find what I want to know. But there's no solving Ray's mystery if she won't reveal anything to us. Roger is right however, she is hiding almost everything possible from us that she conceivably can without outright saying as such._ Robin began purring louder and stretched in her lap. Dorothy absent mindly rubbed his exposed stomach while continuing much of this thought process throughout the night.

The next day Instro arrived for a private lesson. It wasn't common, but the few times that such lessons did occur Ray would sit on the couch and read. She didn't really pay much attention to whatever Dorothy played, just the fact she was playing calmly and not beating the keys helped Ray relax.

"Ah, that reminds me, what was that song you sang last night Ray?" The three were alone as Norman was preoccupied elsewhere and Roger had left for a negotiation.

"Hm?" She looked up from the book and blinked. For some reason she hadn't really expected him to ask about it.

"Well, you said you learned it from an android, and I'm rather curious who."

"Oh, um…" Ray's mind tried and failed at mental gymnastics on how she could explain to Instro she had learned the song from a fictional android born thousands of years into a future where humans were the minority all originating in a video game. Paradigm's lack of what Ray considered to be modern computing technology caused her no end of problems when it came to explaining what she meant. "Um, well…"

"How is it that difficult to explain?" Dorothy was annoyed with her, even if she chose to use monotone Ray could still pick up on it.

"It just is." Ray shrugged angrily. "Look, I lack the crayons and construction paper needed to explain, but the closest I can come to something coherent is an android in a movie sang it at the end of said movie and it was really sad ok?"

"Why would you need crayons or construction paper to explain that?"

"I believe Ray meant you would need a simplified explanation of a more difficult concept."

"So you were calling me a child?" Dorothy's eyes narrowed just the tiniest fraction, and of course Ray would notice.

"How is it that Instro got that before you did?" Instro couldn't help but laugh at their exchange.

No Side

* * *

I had this in my head forever ago and finally had a chance to sit down and write it out. And then life started going downhill and I reworked it a bit to get this story to flow. Winter Night Phantom will hopefully be done in a few weeks, along with some other content.


	17. Dan Dastun's troubles

Ready for this? Probably not but it's here anyway.

* * *

In an alley outside the domes, an old homeless man walks into a dark corner, looking for his little hide away with his beat up mattress and crappy holey blankets. But once this grungy man turned the corner, everything was covered in slime. "Huh? What happened? Where's my bed, what is all this junk?"

The alleyway he called home was covered in slime and half eaten metals and other materials. A strange figure wiggled around on the ground, it was pink, had six legs with what appeared to be like thumbless hands, and a strangely smiley face. Behind it is an out of date quaint robot with no human features.

The bug thing was munching on what looked like metal, and quickly devoured it before rolling over and making its way towards the bum. "What, no stay away from me… ARGH!"

"Yes, yes, you must eat to get bigger, child." The robot spoke a clipped mechanical voice.

A few days later, grizzled veteran of the Paradigm City Military Police, Major Dan Dastun, was looking into strange happenings involving the homeless population. Mainly that many had been attacked by what they claimed was a monster. Many had stated it attacked them when alone. He didn't believe it of course. Monsters weren't real.

Yet what else could have done the damage he saw? Cars that looked as if rats had nibbled at them, dumpsters torn in half and trash all over the alley, a fire hydrant leaking all over the street with a side cap missing.

"... What the devil?" Dastun had his gun at the ready, on edge from what he saw. Turning a corner he got the sense he was being followed, turned around, and came face to face with the aforementioned devil eyes glowing down on him. He shot off a few rounds in the otherwise quiet alley.

* * *

Major Dan Dastun was laid up in a hospital bed, head covered in bandages. It wasn't like he was there for some small incident, he's been attacked by the strange creature that many homeless people had complained about. The Home office hadn't wanted info on it, and didn't send any officers to track it down. So Dastun had taken it upon himself.

Roger had gone to visit his old superior when he heard what had happened, but didn't himself believe it. For a monster to attack the old cop seemed bizarre.

"Did a monster really do this to you?" Something about seeing Dastun like this had Roger a little upset.

"I know what you're thinking Rog, and I couldn't believe it either. I had heard reports of homeless people being attacked and disappearing, but the home office doesn't care. They didn't want panic to spread unnecessarily. I went to check out the reports myself where someone disappeared and got attacked by a giant pink blob."

"Giant pink blob?" Roger really couldn't believe it. He had heard the rumors at the Speakeasy about homeless people either disappearing, but had chalked it up to some drunks having a few too many drinks and starting some fun, but seeing Dastun and the Military Police were looking into the matter and taking the hysteria serious, Roger had to assume there was something to the rumors and decided to look into it himself. He felt he owed Dan at least that much. "Someone needs to investigate this."

"Look Roger, you were one of the best MP's to ever work for me, you bailed me out more than I care to count. But you're not an MP anymore, don't bother getting involved with this." Dan gave his old lieutenant a warning gaze, but not so much stern as concerned for Roger's well being.

* * *

The alleyway where Dan Dastun was attacked was in a state of disarray. Trash cans overflowing lined the walls, and spilled out onto the grubby pavement below. Roger walked around gathering info from the various homeless that would talk to him. "Dan refused to tell me everything he knew hoping I would stay away. What I know: The destruction only happens in this part of the city far away from the domes. The so called omnipotent Paradigm Co doesn't care what happens out here or that a monster is cleaning it up. Everything of importance in this city is connected to the Paradigm co, like it's own fiefdom." _Or perhaps a kingdom works better._

Behind him loud clacking footsteps resounded off the solemn brick walls, and a not so heavenly Angel stepped into view.

"Ah of course you're involved. What name are you using today? Is it Ms. Casy or Angel?" Roger couldn't help but have his shoulders fall in disbelief. The Paradigm Corporation wasn't investigating publicly but sent a secretary to gather info.

"Well hello to you Negotiator, what brings you down here? And I've told you before just Angel is fine." Angel was standing right behind him, her silhouette did nothing to hide her curves, and neither did the long pinkish faux fur lined coat she wore over her skin tight suit. Her hair was pulled back and she wore a warm felted cap, also in a light shade of pink.

"Even for a dangerous woman like you it's not safe to be walking alone at this hour around here."

"My my. A gold star for caring, but I'm not alone with you here now am I? Besides it should be here soon."

"You mean the beast from the rumors?"

"What else? It may have valuable memories after all." She was playing coy, but Roger could see through it. She may work for the Paradigm Company, but she only wanted those memories for herself. _A person obsessed with the past until the very end._

"So Paradigm Corporation admits that it exists?" Just then something large and rickety rolled down an adjacent alley towards them. "Geez is that a robot? What a relic, I'm shocked it's still moving."

"Yes, a vintage 40 year old relic." Angel pulled a camera from her purse, jumped from the alley wall both had hidden behind and took some pictures of it. When the flash of the camera went off the robot stopped moving and Roger covered his face from the blinding light.

"What are you…?"

"Au revior Negotiator, he's all yours now." Angel ran away, in heels of all the shoes she could pick out for such a mission.

"That Angel sure isn't from Heaven." Roger's brows twitched in annoyance. _Angel would've been better named Headache._ Behind him the robot extended two long clawed arms, with stretchy vacuum like hose running over it's mechanical structures. Too old to be called an android, it had no human-like features and it's appearance was like a bulbous lamp. _The heck is that thing? And is it following the pink creature Dan mentioned?_

Angel ran further away from the archaica machine and out behind from some trash cans a pink blob jumped out. Startled Angel said, "Hi there little fella."

The creature jumped at Angel's arm, the one that was now holding a gun she had drawn from her purse. Trying to bat it away it clung to her arm until Roger came from the side and knocked her down. "Look out."

The gun and creature were knocked from her arm. The creature had six legs with tiny nub-like fingers, two rows of sharp fangs, a long tail and chubby body. Angel was dsiturbed by the pink blob "...What is that thing?"

"Is that now what you were after?" The creature picked up the gun in its large mouth, fitting all but the handle in its cheeks. "And probably the monster that attacked Dastun. Huh Angel?" The pink clad woman had picked an ideal time to disappear.

"Eat all your food, you must grow larger." The robot's mechanical tone did not match the grizzly scene . "You are a very special child." Soon the strange creature had devoured the gun, bleached and walked up to the old robot, wagging its thick tail much like a dog.

"What is that thing? And what did Angel want with it?" Roger watched as the Robot rolled down the alleyway, the little monster following behind.

"Good boy. Good boy. You must eat more and more. Keep eating. That is why you were born..." Everywhere the monster went, it ate only artificial foods. Metal, concrete, plastics, glass. Dilapidated buildings began to fall. Homeless ran from the monster, and their shelters evaporated overnight to the monsters insatiable appetite.

Roger walked down the sidewalk of the dilapidated section at the end of town. Despite talking with Dastun again he had still advised Roger to get as far away from whatever the creature was. _So much destruction just from one monster?_

"Hey you," a nasally voice yelled at Roger, "We don't need your kind snooping here." It was Major Guas. Still somehow alive and employed after so many failures to the higher ups. A large fleet of MP vehicles drove past. Many parked near or behind him. "The REAL police are trying to conduct an investigation. You've got nothing to do with it. Now buzz off."

_So now the Military Police take an interest? Why? … No nevermind I'm certain I know why._ Roger walked off, certain somewhere in his glass tower Alex Rosewater was watching. From every corner the MP turned, homeless people huddled together for warmth under tatty blankets, too scared of the monster to start a fire.

"Hmph scum of the earth this lot, too bad we can't clean this whole place up while we look for that thing." Major Gaus scoffed at the judgemental eyes of the homeless. Some of the lower ranked officers grumbled complaints.

"Useless beggars." One mumbled. "We should have just cleaned this place out after Major Dastun was attacked."

A slightly higher ranked officer walking a bit ahead of the others spoke up. "Our orders came from Mt Olympus itself, so just do as you're told and save the grumbling for the tabloid reporters." Looking behind him the other officers looked terrified. "Hm? What'za matter?". Behind him a large ghastly mouth filled with sharp white teeth opened up and slavered on the ground behind the unawares lietuitent.

"Gwarh!"

"Holy shit run!" The man yelled as they all ran away.

Officers meeting with Major Gaus were discussing their findings as of that moment when they heard the screaming. "What have you found men?" Gaus yelled to the subordinates.

"We've located the suspect!" The men yelled as they ran back to the tanks. Behind the men the wall close by burst open in a rain of bricks, and out scuttled the creepy pink monster.

"That's the suspect!?" The large creature close to three stories tall looked around, ignoring the men below, until it spotted the tanks and began to slobber in hunger. It lurched forward to make a snack of the tanks.

"It's actually eating the tank. How are we supposed to fight that, let alone capture it?" As it finished swallowing one tank Gaus found his resolve and shouted orders. "It's a monster, men, same as any other we fight. No alternative but to fire the missiles! Rain fires down on it."

The monster turned it's rather flabby neck towards the sounds of the missiles coming toward it. But instead of running, it's rather innocently chubby face swallowed the missiles, but within seconds regretted the decision to eat the explosives as it squeaked in pain and it's stomach destined outwards with the force of the explosions in its gut.

"So it's not entirely worthless. Men keep firing while I contact HQ!" Gaus ordered as he hoped into his personal vehicle and retreated.

"Major! Did he just leave us here? Dammit, no other choice, keep firing." Those left behind by the cowardly leader kept the assault up in hopes of escaping later themselves.

"What the hell is that creature, and can it really have memories the company wants?" Gaus mumbled from the back seat.

"Um. Major."

"What is it?"

"We're being followed by that thing."

"What?" Sure enough the monster had abandoned the tanks to follow the running food source, slobbering all the while.

Back at the main dome, in a dark office, the head of the Military Police picked up a receiver and was conversing with a driver. "It's heading into the city?"

"Chief, if that thing causes any more destruction I will hold you personally responsible." Alex Rosewater stood tall, even over the head of the police.

The chief looked a bit downtrodden by the news. "Sir, we are doing everything we can to contain it."

"The more metals it eats the bigger it gets?" Alex was holding a series of pictures taken by various employees and spies.

"Yes sir. We believe it's a man-made creature made with memories from 40 years ago…"

"A biological weapon? Famine proof livestock? Well either way it's turned into a real kaiju on our fair city." (he actually uses godzilla here, but without memories would people remember godzilla?) Below in the streets people ran for their lives from the monster shrieking in fear. "Destroy it."

"Sir?"

"This memory is worthless. Isn't it your duty to protect this city? Then protect it by destroying that thing." Alex sounded bored of this conversation.

"Yes sir." The Chief bowed before exiting to give further orders to his men.

In the street below people ran as the monster moved ever closer to the domes, eating cars, fire hydrants, street lights and anything else it deemed tasty. The robot below encouraged the destruction as it followed it's now gigantic charge. "Eat all you can and get bigger."

Very far away from the carnage, a small red headed android and a long, curly chestnut haired teen girl watched as it got closer to the domes.

"Well that's not good." Ray opined as the creature shrieked in the distance as more missiles hit the pink blob.

"Big O has left to deal with it. You did not tag along." Dorothy''s voice seemed small for all the cacophony the creature made.

"No need. I can hear that thing from here, but it isn't talking like the others." Ray shrugged. "Besides, Big O will destroy it soon enough." Ray had rested her face on a curled up hand while leaning on the concrete railing, peering over at the trouble the monster caused as a child might look at a boring homework assignment.

Nearer to the creature the MP tried to coordinate efforts to contain the monster. "The Hostile is on 32nd street."

A dispatcher at HQ relayed orders. "Roger that. We've got reinforcements on the-"

"The hostiles at East Gate 2!"

"What?"

"Hostile at North Dome 3 requesting reinforcements."

"Hostile my ass that thing is a giant monster!" Conflicting reports resounded over the headset.

"Clarify, how many hostiles are there?" In the various domes and gates below, long mouthed tentacles reached out and devoured more metal, injuring many below.

"That's a good boy… you are eating well and growing." By now, the robot's voice was barely discernible from the noise. The monster now covered a number of city blocks, damaging buildings and causing chaos.

A loud rumbling roar alerted the creature to the presence of a new food source. On top of North Dome 3 the creature looked down at the black Megadeus as it emerged from the pavement. It looked curious and hungry.

"Big O, Showtime!" Roger shouted as he tapped in the missile launcher commands. The creature gladly devoured the explosives sent from the Big's chest cavity.

Down below the homeless watching felt despair. "Damn. It's just, devouring the missiles."

As the creature lunged at the Big O, it sunk below ground, leaving a rather confused predator in its wake. It got a happy look on the chubby pink face, and dug down into the hole, following the Big.

"Norman, I need you to send the Prairie Dog somewhere wide and open, fast."

"Wide and open, sir?" Norman was in his repair bay office, and it was rather dark save for the screen.

"Yes I intend to use the Chrome Buster."

"Understood sir, give me just a moment to re-route you."

"Hurry, he's on my tail," The creature was in deed keeping up with the fast moving Prairie Dog, eagerly chasing what it thought to be a tasty meal though it's humongous form took the whole of the tunnel and nothing but its face was visible. Above where the homeless and ragged worn out citizens stood around praising the Megadeus.

"The black Megadeus saved us." "The Black Megadeus lured the monster underground." "Thank the gods." "Thank Buddha."

"My baby. My baby." The robot lamented the monster fleeing the chaos and remembered what its maker had told him. He couldn't remember his face or name, but the voice was still part of the undamaged memories. _If this experiment succeeds you'll have done a great service for humanity… You have an important responsibility. We're counting on you._

"I must… stay by his side." With that the robot jumped into the hole and followed the creature. Jets on the bottom of the base of the machine lit to life as the robot zoomed after the creature. _You'll raise him until he's ready for the world to see. That's your job. _"Professor where are you? I'm looking after him. I looked after him, I raised him, I protected him, and now I follow him quickly. But where are you?"

"This is more like it." Roger was a little nervous fighting something that ate metal. But also glad nothing else was out here so he could go all out without fear of hurting anyone. "Sorry big boy. I don't know who made you, or why they unleashed you in this city, it's certainly not your fault… But there's no ecological niche for you in this world." First Big O's left arm, then his right arm, pulled into 90 degree angles, then smashed his fists together while the glass head piece gleaned and shot out a blinding bright and purple light. "Sorry, but it's time for you to rest in peace."

The creature let out a shocked cry as the light of the Chrome Buster slammed into its body. Melting away from the heat and force of the ray, the creature melted away. The robot that had followed it around only stood by, doing nothing and making no noise.

"Robots are slaves to their programming. They can't help what they are." Roger spoke softly as the melted remnants of the beast rained down on the two metal beings. "I wonder if humans are any different."

After that the robot stayed by what remained of the corpse, never leaving it's side.

"Are you sure you don't want the Negotiator dealt with?" Angel asked her 'employer' while meeting a dark room in the Main Dome.

"He's no threat to me or this city. Things are fine the way they are. Memories are fleeting and elusive after all. Now you're to keep me informed about the Seebach case. Report all findings directly to me." Rosewater looked from the pictures of the melted down creature to a picture on the profile of a reporter. The man was tall, had a sharp grey beard, short combed back hair, and a crazed look in his eyes.

"Yes sir."

In a hospital Dan and Roger were catching up.

"So it's over then?" Dan Dastun was much better. His head was no longer bandaged, bruises gone and healed, and no longer looking like a mugging victim.

"The city's a mess." Roger winked and started laughing, "But you were onto something that night weren't you?"

"Roger the MP HQ told me you were there that night."

"Well the MP should've been more prepared. I was down there on a case." Roger gave a half hearted answer.

"Hmph, well whatever." Dan didn't really care.

"... Those fools down at HQ never change, why do you keep working for those Paradigm Suits?" Roger went from jovial to serious rather quickly.

"I'm an old dog, it's too late for me to start over." Dan laughed and soon Roger left to work on another case.

"I guess it all runs down hill." Roger shrugged in the chilly weather. Dorothy was next to the Griffon waiting for him, Ray seemed to have a new book while leaning against the car.

"What does?" Dorothy was at least willing to engage.

"Trickle down stupidity." Ray snorted in laughter at Rogers quip.

"I don't understand."

"Nevermind." Roger sighed and his breath created a small cloud of steam. "... Dorothy are robots and humans really so different?"

"Robots don't really understand humans. And humans can't understand robots either."

"You're probably right, but sometimes I wonder." Roger mused.

"I think both understand each other more than the other thinks they do." Ray put the book away and got into the car's back seat and the three went home.

* * *

A small toy robot walked in the underground cellar and crawl space of the old church, it could only move forward. The toy was a muted robin's egg blue, save for some of its features. A round short cylindrical head, blue leds for eyes, toy little antenna on both sides of the head with red tips, the body and arms both squarish, and the arms ending in small claws that clicked together as it walked. The legs were long cylinders and ended in little red blockey feet that chugged and struggled to go forward the further away it got from the remote signal controlling it. In the center of the square body was a little orange and yellow light that blinked.

Those sitting in the church above, completely unaware of the danger below, attentively listened to the preacher Sam Lawrence who was once a chairman of the Paradigm City Board of Directors. He had retired about ten years ago and had vowed to live a peaceful life and guide the people of the city spiritually instead of in a government compactity. He preached once a month at this old church outside the domes, a rare occurrence for those who had lived and enjoyed the high life to the fullest.

Just then the little toy robot pushed up from the cellar door, struggling as it went. A little girl sitting in the front row reached for it, and the statesman turned preacher tried to shout a warning, but it was too late. The next second, the entire church was aflame, those inside lost to the blast.

An hour later the Paradigm Military Police were on the scene collecting evidence and bodies. The Paradigm City Fire Department had of course beaten them to the scene of a fire, as well as paramedics. But by that point it was too late, and the corener was called instead.

"What happened here?" Major Dan Dastun looked up from the slag on the ground in front of him. A young lieutenant that had been assigned as his personal escort and secretary was looking over witness statements that had been gathered and given to him by other cops.

"An explosion sir. It's the same MO as the others so far. Thirty nine confirmed casualties, including previous Paradigm Board member Sam Lawrence." The young man had short blond hair and spoke with a bit of a quiet and timid voice. Yellow tinted glasses with gold rims made it difficult to see his eyes in the darkness.

"They never saw it coming, did they?" Major Dastun pulled his cap down as a corpse was carried away and the hand of a small child slipped. When he looked up he noticed a familiar face in the crowd, blinked and she was gone, a red balloon floated up from where she had just been standing. "Huh?"

"Sir. Sir!"

"Uh, oh sorry, what is it?"

"It's the device used to cause the explosion. It's too early to tell, but it looks like the work on the same bomber as last week sir."

"A serial bomber then. Canvas the area and question the witnesses." Looking around there was a balloon selling van not far away, and it sped off the scene as cops made rounds to clear the area.

* * *

A scene from a movie played out on a large silver screen. In two seats in the front row, a young boy with a buzz cut and a girl with long curly blonde hair watched as the scene placed out, dressed in mid winter attire to keep the chill away. A man in a military police uniform shoots a woman in a trench coat pointing a gun at him. Fireworks begin to go off in the background as her gun falls to the pier they stand on. The cop rushes to her, holds her close, and she speaks a line he knows only from this dream of a movie.

"Vous êtes si gentil."

He awakes with a start, no longer a boy watching a film, but a grizzled cop long overdue for some real shut eye not in a metal fold out chair.

"Is everything alright sir?" A young subordinate asks as Dan Dastun rubs his temples.

"Yeah. I just had that dream again."

"Are you sure it isn't a memory? You've told me you've had that same dream over and over."

"Who knows? Almost feels real enough to be one." He got up and grabbed some coffee before heading back to his office. He still had a lot of questions about the reports the luietents had gathered and wanted to review them himself before submitting the reports.

The next day after sleeping in his office Dan Dastun got ready to visit and report to the head of the Military Police, when an unexpected guest arrived at his door.

"Huh? What are you… Oh never mind I have to go." Dastun tried to get around Roger in a strange game of dodge that led to both being frustrated. "Seriously Roger, what are you doing here?"

"Well I was in the area and thought to drop by for a visit." Roger backed away from the office door.

"You got lousy timing, you know that. I have to make a report to the head office soon." Dastun pushed past him and walked towards the elevator. "Hey Roger, have you ever heard the phrase 'Vous êtes si gentil.' before?"

"Hm, no can't say I have, sounds foreign. Where'd you hear it?"

"Hm, well if you don't know then never mind." He left without another word.

* * *

In the top office of the Main Dome, Major Dan Dastun was trying to give a report to the head of Paradigm, the Chief of Police and some sitting board members. "As I said in the previous report, I suspect the perpetrator is a foreigner."

"Quit with these preposterous notions. There's nothing outside of Paradigm City save for a few hovels, and none would be capable of this level of destruction." The nasally board member reprimanded him.

"Why exactly do you suspect a foreigner Major?" The sole female board member asked.

"The voractory of the attacks leads me to think it's someone from outside Paradigm. Not to mention the MO is completely different from any we have experience with in the past." Dastun reported his theories and findings.

"Such a foolish notion. Quit chasing a fantasy and find the real culprit like your job entails. Foreigners have nothing to do with these mass killings, a deranged psychopath is the real mastermind." The stoic and deep voiced board member added in his two cents.

"That will be all Major. Dismissed!" The Chief of Police sent Dastun on his way and the meeting ended.

Up on the rotating dais that moved the president's desk round the large multi sectional room a fallen angel asked a poignant question. "Won't it ruin your plans if the general population finds out about foreigners?"

"Not really, my plans won't change even if people find out the truth about foreigners. It's not like there is any secrecy. The citizens of Paradigm just assume them to be random vagabonds looking for a more permanent home and don't consider them a threat." He shuffled a few papers and put them away before the next meeting began. "Besides, unlike my father, I intend to keep my promises to them."

Angel frowned behind the giant of a man's back and prepared to take notes for the next meeting.

"What is the meaning of this?" Major Dan Dastun asked the head of the military police.

"It's simple, the higher ups feel you are becoming too involved, so I'm taking you off the case. Consider it a vacation. You're long overdue for one as it is."

"I feel this is all rather conspicuously timed."

"Dismissed Major." Dastun saluted and left the office.

"How are we supposed to solve this case if they chain us down like dogs?" Dastun complained to his subordinate.

"Aren't we, sir?" His subordinate driver asked while peering at his boss in the rearview mirror.

"Huh?"

"Aren't we supposed to be Paradigms watch dogs?"

"I suppose you have it right, but that doesn't mean we have to like the disrespect." Dastun grumbled, and looked down while crossing his arms.

* * *

"Well this is unusual. I almost never have visitors this late." Roger was in his night robe when he greeted the disgruntled Dan Dastun.

"Yeah sorry about that. I was just out late walking and found myself wandering here."

"Well, sit down, and have a drink. What's troubling you?" Roger had the gas fireplace turned on to beat the night's chill, dismissed Norman and offered Dan some strong brandy to warm him up.

"It's just, I keep seeing these memories, and I don't know if they're mine." He gratefully took the alcohol. Roger never was one to buy the cheap stuff, so Dan felt fine imposing and drinking some of his stash whenever he visited.

"What are they about?" Roger wasn't one to care for others' memories or worries about them too much, but Dan was a friend and an old colleague. The least Roger could do was offer a sympathetic ear for him.

"It starts off in a movie theater, there's this kid that looks like I might have at that age, and a girl with him. They watch this old spy movie and it ends with the female spy being shot by the cop. At that point I always wake up. It feels too real not to have happened." Dan downed half his tumbler and sighed.

"Is that where the foreign phrase you asked me about comes from?" Roger downed the rest of his glass and refilled it, and offered more to Dan.

"Yeah. Thinks there's a chance Ray knows what it means?"

"Who knows with that girl? But I'll ask her in the morning."

"She and Dorothy getting along any better?"

"Well now that you mention it, the last two months the two have been getting along, or at least not fighting all the time." Roger scratched at his neck, like he didn't really care.

"That's good though, isn't it? Better than the two of them fighting all the time."

"It beats them being at each other's throats, that's for sure. But Dorothy still seems icy towards Ray, and says she'll be glad when Ray goes back home." Roger gave a resigned sigh.

"Ray still wants to go back home huh?"

"She keeps saying as soon as she finds a way back she'll leave, but honestly, I wonder if her home outside of Paradigm even exists."

"What do you mean?" Dan refused another refill from Roger, he could feel his cheeks turning red as it was.

"I'm not sure myself, but I just have this feeling at the back of my mind that there isn't a way for Ray to go back. That the home she says exists isn't real."

"Like she has someone else's memories?" Dan thought about it for a second before musing, "That's rather pessimistic of you Rog, you feeling alright?"

"Haha, who's comforting who again? But I guess you're right. Thinking like that isn't like me at all. Something about that girl really makes my mind run in circles for some inexplicable reason." Roger stared into the warm glow of the false fire.

In Ray's room she emerged from the bathroom, towel barely covering her form as she went to get her night clothes on for bed. The day had been tiring. Winter weather meant that seasonal maintenance needed doing, and so Norman enlisted her help.

"I was concerned you had fallen asleep in the tub again." Dorothy was at her desk reading one of her fantasy novels.

"I almost did. Why are you in my room reading though? Wouldn't one of the plush chairs in the lounge be better?" Ray just tossed her towel in the laundry bin and forwent coverage.

"Roger has a guest over." Dorothy peered up from the pages of the novel to see a naked Ray. "You have no shame do you?"

"Shame is just peer pressure we allow others to force upon us, so no not really." Ray grabbed a pair of her underwear and some soft jammies. "Besides, it's not like you haven't already seen me naked, what with your spying and utter lack of care for my privacy."

"I do not enjoy seeing you in the nude."

"Then quit watching. You're in my room after all." Ray had slipped the clothes on and started getting comfy on her bed, grabbed some yarn and picked up her knitting. "Who's visiting Roger this late anyway? Dastun?"

"Yes. But why did you ask if you already knew?"

"I didn't, just a hunch." For a time companionable silence went on, with only the clack of the knitting needles, turning of pages or a purring Robin to disturb it.

"What are you making?" Dorothy put the novel down.

"Oh, this?" Ray held up the project she was working on, "It's a scarf for Norman."

"It's grey, and it seems rather short."

"Well yeah, but Norman tends to wear grey as an accent color. And if I made it black I'd lose it in the house." Ray went back to her stitching. "It'll be done soon enough. He needs a new one anyways, his old scarf has holes in it."

"What are the other two projects? One has red in it."

"That's a secret." Ray smiled mischievously.

"Much like everything else with you."

"It's not like I'm trying to keep everything a secret. It's more the fact you all keep asking questions I don't have answers for." Ray shrugged. It was true enough. As much as Roger pestered her about remembering how she got to Paradigm City from far away, she couldn't tell him. She didn't know how she got here herself after all. And how does one easily explain they are from another world in a reasonable and believable manner? If she even suggested it Dorothy would call the loonie bin for her. Not to mention even Ray had a hard time accepting it at first. It just wasn't realistic. But she was in a world from an anime, so realism had left the proverbible building.

"So if we ask you the right questions you will be honest."

"I'll tell you as much as I can at the very least."

"I see. So if I start asking personal questions you would answer?" Dorothy wasn't certain she should or could believe Ray.

"Yeah sure, what's on your mind that you want to know so bad?"

"Why do you dress like a boy?"

"Oh, starting with an easy one? That's simple. I hate dresses and skirts, pants are comfy and have pockets. Also I dislike having to carry a purse."

Dorothy blinked. "I was not expecting a reasonable response."

"Who's the weirdo again?"

"Still you."

"Yup."

"Are you an alien?" Ray burst into laughter at the ridiculous question.

"I mean technically yes. An alien is just another term for foreigner after all. But if you mean a little green person from outer space like in the pictures then no. You've been reading too many of my sci fi novels." Ray had a cheerful snide expression.

"Are you from another world."

"Yes." Ray became serious. _Oh, wait does she already know?_

"Lair. I thought you said you would be honest."

"Just because I'm telling you the truth doesn't mean you'll believe it. Also let's be real, if you did believe me we would have problems, not the least of which is knowing my deepest and darkest secret." Ray played it up, like she was being sarcastic. _Damn, figures she thinks I'm making it up._

"You are a strange and sad human."

"Don't I know it."

* * *

For the next week Dan Dastun did as he wanted. Stayed up drinking, watching movie reels, reading the news. And he hated all of it. Today was a day where he was at the films, watchings some cartoons on screen and some newsreels after which he went outside for a smoke. From the crowd he thought he spotted a red balloon slowly wove its way to the glass ceiling of the dome. Dan followed a familiar blonde woman in a trench coat and folding cap out of the theater entrance and lost her in the crowd. "Hey stop, get back here!"

But it was too late, she was gone. A sound of an explosion nearby rang out in the otherwise quiet street. Dan Dastun, still being the cop he was even not in uniform ran towards the explosion to discover a horrific site. A bus full of passengers, innocents who likely had nothing to do with the bombers hatred of old Paradigm senators, was obliterated, and a crater the size of two buses in diameter had destroyed the street. Worse yet, to the side of the crater, Dan Dastuns personal patrol vehicle, which his subordinate had been using in his absence to cart other officials around, was little more than crumbled scrap, the young subordinates yellow tinted glasses lay broken in front of the vehicle. Little remained but a mangled corpse.

Dan Dastun attended the funeral of his subordinate in the following days, and seeing the absolute disregard for life the bomber had made him sick. After the funeral for his subordinate Dastun was back on the job, and no one in the MP thought to complain. He redoubled his efforts, but still couldn't quite find a lead, other than a balloon truck showed up at all the assassinations, so his best efforts to catch his mysterious killer, and maybe find out about his past, would be at the next event held by an old Paradigm board member.

Soon, he would enlist an old friend for help.

* * *

In the Amusement park Dome, children screamed in excitement as the roller coaster that covered the whole dome sped up and went through twists and turns. In dark contrast, soldiers armed with rifles patrolled the ground, hid in the sewers and escape routes, posed as park workers and private security stood by near the stage.

"With the bomber still at large wouldn't it be better to cancel tonight's speech?" Roger and Dastun were seated in the amphitheater, behind them more soldiers walked their rounds, and children followed colorful suited mascots around the park.

"We've suggested it, but no one understands how a statesman's mind works. He refused and said he wouldn't succumb to fear." Dastun could only shrug. It meant over time sure, but he'd rather the still living former board members took the threat to their lives and safety seriously and stayed in doors. "He said it would brighten the children's moods if he acted like everything was fine."

"Figures, some things never change. Oh, I looked into that matter you requested."

"What did you find out?"

"The movie you keep dreaming about existed. It was called _Winter Night Phantom_, and the female lead was named Sybil Rowan, it's her only known acting role that survived the Event. I talked with every movie restorationist in Paradigm just to get that much."

"So it did exist. Is she still alive."

"About that. Sybil Rowan was an activist against the restoration of Paradigm City and expansion of the domes that destroyed older housing projects. She and every other resistance member were arrested, had their names blacklisted in every industry and disappeared."

"Wait then you mean…?" Dastun didn't want to believe it.

"She died in jail some years ago, and there's no record of her having a daughter." Roger got up to leave. "Whoever it is you've been trailing, it's not the actress from 35 years ago. Sorry, I couldn't give you better news Dan."

"No, it's alright, it's more than I knew to begin with." "

"And about my fee…" Roger really wasn't going to charge his old friend, but he did have standards to keep up.

Let's just say I owe you a drink."

"Fine by me." With that Roger left Dan to his thoughts. He had a lot to deal with, and a lot of emotions to sort through before the speech tonight. Not long after the previous board member took to the stage to give his speech a rather large and uninvited guest appeared from the harbor, the same blue and appearance as the bomber bot used to kill the other members, only this one was fifty times as large. It easily smashed through the glass panels and steel bars that structured the dome. Lumbering ever slowly towards the center of the dome where the amphitheater resided, terrifying all those below and in the path it trod. In the ferris wheel directly in front of the theater scared families clung together hoping for a savior.

The Main Dome had a hidden office, and within that hidden office were particular plans, plans that a certain someone did not want released to the general public. A room where the ruler of what was left of mankind watched in dismay. "Is that the threat? A gigantic toy? Well, so long as the job gets done it matters little how I suppose." A wicked grin set upon Alex Rosewaters features as he watches the bomber bot slowly make a steady path towards the former board member. "With that, the last of the influential senators of my father's generation shall be dealt with."

"And if the black Megadeus shows up?" Behind him Angel watched the tiny black and white screen, biting her lower lip.

"Oh I'm counting on it." Alex rested his head on a curled on fist, watching like a sadistic child taking gleeful please in squashing an ant.

"Big O. Showtime!" With the command given, the city's large black protector lumbered towards the blue toyish like robot. Big O grappled the giant toy robot back towards the hole it had created and began to drag it out into open water, but as the robot was good at putting up a struggle it proved to be more of a challenge than Roger anticipated.

"Geez, you're a slippery thing." It's appearance may have been cute, however the ordinance it held was anything but. Big O's screens lit up with warnings, at least ten huge bombs capable of taking out a city block were packed into its chest. "Yikes!"

While Roger and Big O fought the giant bomber bot, Dastun was chasing a familiar ghost. Seeing the blonde haired woman in the crowd he gave chase, only to end up on a peer outside the dome. Snow began to fall as the two faced off.

"Hold it right there! Huh?" When the woman turned around she looked so familiar. The spy from the movie. She raised a gun-like object to the cop opposite her. "What are you? A ghost, a long forgotten memory that came back to haunt me?"

"I'm a ghost alright, but it is not you I haunt, but this city! I'll make them pay for what they did!"

"What did they do? Try and help me understand. I don't want to shoot you." Why was Dan Dastun so desperate to stop this woman? He didn't know her save for vague dreams of a long forgotten past. Yet, he didn't want to go down that same road.

"You couldn't possibly understand Paradigm dog! With a push of this trigger it will all be over, and everyone will know!" Her finger tightened on the trigger, and within a split second shots rang out, the toy robot in the dome stopped moving and powered down.

"Hey thanks for that!" Roger yelled as he dragged the archaism out of the Amusement Dome, tossed it into the sky and fired a Chrome Buster into it's torso, setting off a chain reaction similar to fireworks.

In a dark office atop the Main Dome, Alex Rosewater watched the events unfold. "Typical foreigners. You give them the means to commit the act and they still muck it up."

Behind him, a disgruntled angel frowned. _You'll get what's yours. I'm just disappointed I won't be here to watch it._ She knew nothing but distaste for the King of the Dome. Back on the pier a familiar scene of memory played out live for the actors.

"Why are you crying?" Sybil Rowan's look alike asked Dastun.

"Huh?" he hadn't been aware that he was crying. The woman reached a gloved hand to his face, wiped the tears away and spoke in the language Dastun couldn't understand.

"Vous êtes si gentil."

In a dark theater, a boy watches the end of the movie, tears streaming down his face as a small blonde girl rests her head on his shoulder. He releases a red balloon that floats to the ceiling, the word Fin is displayed on a silver screen before it all fades to black.

* * *

And that's it. Poor Dastun can't catch a break. Ray didn't have much to do in this chapter, but it was focused more on Dastun anyways.


	18. Merry Flippin Heaven's Day

Welcome to the traditional anime Christmas episode... which I meant to have out in July. Eh, it got done.

* * *

The entire Mall Dome was covered in gaudy decorations, streamers, ribbons, glitter, a giant clock counting down the days to one of the few family holidays in Paradigm City. Heavens Day. If not for the decorations and the gift bags, it wouldn't have been any different from any other shopping trip. But as it was the cheery atmosphere and the ever growing crowds of people looking for gifts for their loved ones was rather overwhelming for Ray. Dorothy didn't seem to care.

"It would be nice, being able to remember how I got to Paradigm City." Ray sighed as the two waded through the crowd of shoppers.

"You say that a lot, like you lost all your memories, but you must still have some of them right?" Dorothy didn't really care one way or the other, but when Ray got depressed Roger and Norman tended to worry about her. The two young women stopped in front of a storefront to see the sales fliers.

"Yeah. I remember my family, friends, the town I was born in, but not how I got here." Ray's reflection looked haggard, as if she hadn't slept in weeks.

"Do you think those memories will ever return?" Dorothy noticed this shop sold ties, and made a mental note to come back after finishing the shopping list from Norman.

"Maybe, but it's been almost a year, at this point it would probably take a miracle." Ray's grim expression reflected in the cheery window decorated for Heaven's Day. "But in reality they probably never will return. Maybe those memories never existed to begin with."

Dorothy's face in the window reflected the frown she wore. Some time later Dorothy returned alone to the shop to inquire about ties. "I need a black tie."

"Oh well we have these lovely ties with black as a compliment color." The sales woman showed Dorothy many, but none were all or mostly black.

"It needs to be all black."

"All black Miss? Well we have some funeral ties."

"That will be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's for a man with lousy taste." After buying the tie Dorothy waited out in the dome proper for Roger to finish with his business. Ray was nowhere to be found, so Dorothy assumed she either went to a bookstore or went home.

"Come on Dorothy, let's leave." Roger walked past her, clearly in a bad mood.

"Roger?" Dorothy walked at a brisk pace to catch up with him. "You seem to be in a foul mood, what's wrong?"

"I just don't care for the scenery."

"You do not like Heaven's Day?"

"I'm certainly not a fan." behind him Dorothy almost looked to have a sad frown. The two made their way to the elevators, where it was crowded. Roger boarded and when he noticed Dorothy hadn't he asked her to get in. "What are you standing for Dorothy? There's still room."

As soon as Dorothy stepped into the elevator, the weight alarm began blaring. She got off and retreated towards the escalators. Roger followed behind with a small rise of, "Dorothy, wait!" The elevator door briefly caught his leg. He caught up with her and rode down the escalator a few steps behind. "Dorothy, I'm sorry. I forgot."

"It's fine." A few steps ahead of him on the escalator Dorothy was peering downwards and avoiding eye contact, and continued to do so all the way to the parking garage.

After leaving the main mall building a young man playing an instrument Roger didn't recognize was asking for donations. Roger tossed a dollar coin at the man and said "To a promising young artist." The man seemed rather appreciative and winked.

* * *

In a bookstore in the Mall Dome Ray was looking for the next book in a series she was reading. Since the series had been out of print for a while, she had to look in used shops. She finally spotted the volume she needed, reached out for it when another hand also went towards the book.

"Hm?" Ray looked over at who it was and did not expect to run into this individual. "How are you not in jail?"

"Ah, it's you!" Beck's girlfriend's face was agape in shock. This crazy kid was not who she wanted to run into.

"Yep, it's me alright. No seriously how the heck are you not in jail?"

"Mista J got me a great lawyer, and told me to turn on him so I could get probation. What'sa matter with your face?" After her explanation Ray's expression was a mix of disgust, disturbed and grossed out.

"You're reprehensible… what the hell's your name anyway?"

"Yume." The girl huffed and crossed her arms, tilting her head to the side in a better than you attitude.

"Really?"

"Yeah what of it?"

"You're pale as I am, and white, and your parents gave you a Japanese name?"

"They thought it was pretty 'k!" Yume put her hands and her hips and huffed indignantly.

"Fair enough I suppose." Ray shrugged and grabbed the book off the shelf.

"Hey I wanted that." Yume raised her voice and was quickly shushed by the other patrons.

"So do I. Wait, you read?"

"Not much else to do with Mista J in jail." Ray had another disturbed and disgusted expression after hearing Yume openly admit that.

"I can't believe you, saying something like that in public."

"What're ya? A prude?" Yume sneered.

"No you idiot! We're in a bookstore, not a bar or girls club. Keep the bedroom talk to appropriate areas. Also why would you openly admit to dating a criminal? Geez."

"Better than being a virgin." Yume felt like being superior, Ray shot that down real quick.

"Oh honey, you must be confused. I'm not a virgin, I just like 'em educated and capable of supporting my future crotch goblins." It was Yumes turn to look disgusted.

"Did ya just admit to being a gold digga?"

"Well considering that I intend to stay with my future partner and not sleep around, no, not really." Ray made her way up to the registrar and paid, with a miffed Yume following behind.

"Hey where'd'ya… huh?" Yume stopped when Ray turned around and held the book up to her face. "What're'ya doing, shoving it in my face?"

"Letting you borrow it. No, don't look so confused. I'll expect you to return it when you have finished reading." Yume slowly took the book from Ray, afraid it was some sick joke.

"How am I supposed to return it to ya?"

"You know where I live right? With the negotiator Roger Smith? Just swing by his place and use the side entrance in the alleyway, that's for personal stuff and deliveries. Ring the bell and leave it there. I better head back to the car, they'll probably be leaving soon." Ray turned and went on her way. _That girl really is weird. Just hope she really returns it._

In the packed walkway Yume looked down at the novel in her hands. Sure she could just take it and never give it back, but something told her that wouldn't be the right choice in this situation. Besides, she got the feeling the crazy girl wasn't all bad. She liked books after all.

* * *

Ray was waiting at the Griffin for a ride home. No new books, but from a bag she had been carrying she had a knitting project going.

"Nothing new to read this time?" Roger asked as he turned off the Griffin's security systems.

"Nothing I particularly wanted." Ray climbed into the back seat and the three returned home.

At dinner that evening Norman explained some Heaven's Day traditions as Dorothy had asked.

"First, Heaven's Day was a way for Paradigm to give alms to the citizens, and to celebrate surviving a year as well as its founding. Later, the tradition evolved into eating meals with family and exchanging gifts with loved ones." Dinner that night was tense, and for once Norman had allowed Ray to drink with everyone else.

"Will you be giving anyone a gift, Roger?" He practically spat his wine at Dorothy's question.

"Preposterous. Why would someone who has turned their back on Paradigm celebrate a holiday for its founding?" He patted his mouth with a napkin before continuing, "Besides, who would I even give a gift to?"

"I think I'll turn in now." Dorothy got up and left. Ray sighed and drained her wine glass.

"Was it something I said Norman?"

"Nothing out of the usual, sir." After dinner Ray helped Norman with the dishes, giving the two a chance to talk in private.

"Roger really is dense isn't he?" Ray scrubbed the dishes while Norman dried them.

"No more than normal. You don't seem too keen on the holiday either, Ms Ray."

"True." Ray sighed as she stared at the wall in front of the sink, lost in memory for a brief moment, "But unlike Roger, I hate the holiday because I don't have any good memories of it."

"I'm sure some will eventually return." Norman attempted to reassure Ray, only for her to shake her head in disagreement.

"No, I mean I have those memories, and all of them are awful. I wish I could forget. Amnesia would be a welcome respite to the memories that haunt me this time of year." Ray was depressed just thinking about it, but tried not to show it. Whenever she was slightly off the men of the house felt the need to intervene, and it was causing a wedge between her and Dorothy.

"Yet you did not mention this to Ms Dorothy?" With the dishes washed Ray moved on to cleaning the sink while Norman put the dishes away.

"No. It's not like she can do anything about my past. Besides, even if I lack joy for this occasion, I shouldn't deny it to someone else."

"When did you grow into a mature young lady?" He had a rather jovial smile despite the circumstances of their conversation.

"I've been mature. I just choose not to act my age." _Besides, I'm nearly in my mid 30's, not 18. It is nice being young again though._

"Well then, is there anything you want for Heaven's Day?" Ray hung her head and sighed at Norman's question.

"No. Almost everything I want I can buy, and all my needs are met."

"There must be something."

"Yeah, but it's expensive and I'd feel bad asking for it."

* * *

In a small apartment outside the domes, the young sax player made a meal of some ham he had bought with the coin Roger had thrown him earlier. He gave the single slice to a girl sitting at the kitchen table, while putting an empty plate in front of his seat and feigned eating.

"Boy, nothing like eating ham you bought with your own hard earned money." The young man acted as if he had cut and chewed a slice off the meat, but his plate and mouth were both empty save for lies.

"How did you afford it?" The girl had her eyes closed, reached out to where she knew her utensils would be and began to eat her portion, the only portion.

"Some gentleman really liked my playing and gave me a dollar coin. Probably rich too given his attire."

"Oh Oliver, that's wonderful. Will you continue playing at the mall dome?" The young woman spoke between mouthfuls.

"For sure, at least until Heaven's Day. Maybe I'll be able to afford a gift this year, what with more generous patrons and all. Oh I better go soon, have to get to work." The young man changed into a working uniform and left.

* * *

The next day Roger was helping Norman out in exchange for some information.

"So Heaven's Day is Dorothy's birthday?" Norman had him peeling potatoes so the work would go faster. Norman had to can them before the end of the week.

"Yes Master Roger. When I was checking her files during a back up I found it marked. And well, it might be nice to get her a present."

"You're right Norman. Do you know of anything she needs?" Roger was not the best at gift giving, and knowing Norman he most likely had something in mind when he broached the subject.

"Well, it is getting cold around this time of year, and for a young lady not to have a coat, well it just won't do."

"Do you know what dress size she is?"

"Size 2."

"Ok, I'd better go look before everything nice has been bought up in the sales. Thanks Norman." Roger took off the apron he had donned to help peel and set off for the Mall Dome. Not long after he left Ray entered the kitchen.

"Did he fall for it?" Ray put on the previously discarded apron and set about helping Norman.

"I have no idea what you mean."

"Mhmm. So that's a yes."

* * *

In the Mall Dome a now garbageman Oliver was picking up trash for extra pay, and he spotted a nice coat in the window of an upscale store. "Oh man that would look lovely on Laura, but not at the price."

The tag read a cool $1500, not something he could afford anytime soon on his earnings. A saleswoman picked up the coat and went to wrap it. "Ah hey, not fair."

"Hey! New guy hurry up!" One of his coworkers yelled at him to hurry over.

"Oh, sorry be right there."

* * *

Once finished inside the dress boutique, Roger went back to the Griffin only to receive a call from Norman. "Yes Norman, what is it."

"A job offer sir. It's from the Paradigm Corporation, and you've been specifically requested."

"From Paradigm, huh? I suppose if nothing else I should hear what the job is about. Tell them I am heading over." _Well, even if I hate the Paradigm Corporation with a passion, they print the money I need to repair Big O. May as well hear them out._

"Very good sir."

In the top of the Main Dome, in offices only the elite ever had access to, Roger Smith and Major Dan Dastun sat at one end of a huge meeting table, while at the other was the Chief of Police and some senators who were reading over files. At a desk at the top of the dias, looking down like a judge over all, Alex Rosewater stood watching, with a rather conservatively dressed Angel taking notes nearby.

"So this letter is enough of a threat for Paradigm to worry?" Roger asked as he picked up the card that had been delivered to almost every office in the Corporation. On the white card a night sky of deep blue hung over a white snow covered ground, a tree with presents around it was in the center and a shining star hung over it. It looked as chitzky as the various decorations every dome had this time of year. That said, the threat within was rather sinister despite the calm picture. "In seven days, the world will be reborn?" Roger found it difficult to believe they deemed it a coherent threat.

"The threat is credible." A male senator spoke in a clipped and angered voice.

"So why do you need me? Will the Military Police not be enough?" Roger crossed his arms and waited. Dan was the one that spoke next.

"We're already looking for the bomb, but in the event we find the one who planted it, we need them talked down." Dan already had his arms crossed, annoyed and pissed off that the higher ups ignored his recommendation not to involve civilians.

"So that's where you come in, Negotiator." The only female senator present at the meeting took a drag from her cigarette and continued. "Obviously, if the police had as competent a negotiator this wouldn't be needed." Dastun winced next to him.

"Obviously you will be compensated for your time, Mr Smith." From the dias the god of Paradigm deigned to speak down on his people. He wrote a check and had Angel deliver it to him.

"I suppose I have no reason to refuse. I'll be taking this for reference." Roger pocketed the check, grabbed the card and got up to leave, but before he shut the door behind him he decided to ask something unlike him. "Mr Rosewater, you wouldn't happen to know of a good tailor would you?"

* * *

After shift Oliver waited in line for his daily wages. But being given barely enough for a day of groceries he grumbled. "Hey is that all I get?"

"Move it." He was shoved away by the next in line.

On the way home he had his sax, choosing to play at the dome for a short while to earn a little more. "Geez, at this rate I'll never be able to buy Laura a present."

"Hey there, sonny! You're the one that plays his instrument at the Mall Dome." A gaunt old man with a long white beard in a red suit and cap with white faux fur lining seemingly appeared from nowhere in front of Oliver, startling him. "You look down, what's wrong?" When the old man gestured his hands didn't leave the suit sleeves, this suit was clearly meant for someone larger.

"Why would you want to listen to my troubles?"

"Oh I'm just an old man trying to help the younger generation." Oliver wasn't sure what made him keep talking to the old man, but he confided in the old man anyway.

"I want to buy my girl a nice gift, but I can't afford one on the crappy pay I get."

"Oh, for your girl hm? Well I have just the thing." The old man held out a sleeved arm and gestured for Oliver to do the same. He dropped a teardrop shaped green gem in Oliver's hand. "There ya go, sonny, just make sure to be in the Mall Dome on Heaven's Day and you'll be able to get your girl an amazing gift."

"Woah this is beautiful." While Oliver admired the gem the old man hopped onto the bridge's railing. "Hey is it really ok for me to have this?"

"It's fine, I'm not long for this world anyway." Despite the claim of soon being dead the old man was spritely, doing a handstand and walking on his hands on the railing.

"Well, ok," Oliver stared at the green multilayered gem, "But don't expect me to give it… back… Where'd he go?" Looking back at where the old man had been mere moments ago now there was no one else around. Oliver pocketed the gem and quickly went home.

* * *

The next few days the Mall Dome was abuzz with all the MP's searching for the threat. With a map of the Dome laid out and bomb sniffing equipment in full use, sections checked off and rechecked off slowly dotted the map.

"What makes Rosewater think this threat is credible? It sounds like all the other empty threats this city has received." Roger wasn't as much help as he thought he should be, but with no one to negotiate with what was he to do?

"It seems the threat came with more than just a card. An old scientist recovered some memories and sent a raving letter with it how the world used to be covered in trees and forests, and that long before whatever happened 40 years ago Paradigm City was also like that." Dastun crossed off more areas on the map.

"Covered in trees? Somehow I just can't see it."

"Yeah, me neither, but HQ thinks it's credible so here we are. Oh yeah, there's one more thing." Dan signaled his men to search the next area.

"What's that?"

"Ever heard of something called The Book of Revelations?" Dastun took his cap off and wiped his brow before continuing, "Rosewater was talking about it before, saying he had a copy."

"Can't say that I have. What's it about?"

"I don't really know, just based off what we've been told it talks about the end of days, and the world being reborn under the eyes of God."

"And Rosewater believes it?" Roger found it strange that a man in Rosewater's position would be superstitious, cautious enough to take a terroristic threat seriously perhaps, but doing so because of some book talking about the end of days?

"Seems like it." Dastun shrugged.

"Why aren't you searching outside the dome?" Roger asked Dan as the two poured over the map.

"We haven't received orders to." Dan pulled his cap down.

"In other words you've been ordered to ignore it. Well, call me if you find anything. I need to go check a few leads myself." Roger revved the engine of the Griffin before peeling off towards a spot outside the Dome where he expected to find two teenagers. When the Griffin pulled up next to a statue the two got in. "Any leads?"

"No one seemed to know anything when asked." Dorothy commented.

"Any luck, Ray?"

"No. I sat around listening for gossip, but most people were more interested in a teenager knitting in public." Ray shrugged.

"So nothing then."

"Not exactly." Dorothy pointed to a young man playing a brass colored instrument, and in his case was a prominently displayed card, with the same design.

"Good work Dorothy." Roger smirked and the stake out began, when the man left they followed him back to an apartment complex. "Alright let's go."

"I'm staying outside." Ray said.

"And what if they try to escape?"

"Then I'll be able to tell you which direction they ran. Better hurry before you lose 'im." Ray gestured vaguely towards the building and walked towards some dilapidated buildings nearby. Really, Ray didn't feel like intruding on what was about to go down. Roger and Dorothy ran up the stairs after the young man, both taking a position on either side of the door before Roger knocked, but the one who answered was not who they expected.

"Hello, who's there?" A blind woman using a cane walked out of the door. Roger was shocked enough that he dropped the stealth act, and the young man popped his head out the door a second later.

"Hm, oh it's you! What are you doing there?" Soon the four were in the apartment seated at the small kitchen table. To call it homely was an understatement. The apartment was in as bad of shape as most of the other buildings around, appearing as if it might fall down with a single push. But for all the destitute surroundings, this small place was clearly lived in and a home. "So you're looking into those greeting cards? Everyone that lives here received one a week ago."

"I see, that really doesn't tell us much."

"Would you like some coffee?" Laura attempted to serve them, with a bit of help from Oliver pushing the sugar closer to her hands.

"No thank you." Dorothy was quick to respond. _It is fortunate Ray chose to stay outside, she may not have behaved._

"So the two of you are making ends meet out here?"

"Yes. Laura makes me the happiest man alive." Oliver couldn't help gushing, he really did care for his love. "Say you two don't make such a bad couple yourselves."

"You've got the wrong idea." Roger protested.

"That's not very nice." Laura quipped back.

"It's ok. I'm used to it." Dorothy was even more grateful that Ray was not here to witness such a conversation, as she would most certainly have made inappropriate comments.

"Say, what is that instrument you were playing earlier? I'm not familiar with it." Roger attempted to change the subject.

"Oh that? It's a saxophone, my grandfather left it and some sheet music to me. I enjoy playing it and thought maybe I could earn some cash from playing in the domes this time of year."

"I see."

"Well, if you want to know more about the greeting card, maybe check with some of the elderly. It resembles a stained glass window at the abandoned church nearby. Maybe they know something about it." Oliver offered what little help he could. Roger took him up on the information and went to check the building out while Dorothy stayed behind and conversed with the lovers, hoping to gleam more.

At the abandoned church, if it could be called more than piles of rubble, Roger found Ray sitting on the last remaining bench, knitting away quietly. The stained glass window Oliver told him about was behind her on the last standing wall.

"Taking some inspiration from the surroundings?" Roger asked as he investigated the rubble.

"Hardly. It just so happens to be an out of the way spot where I'm unlikely to be disturbed is all." Ray didn't look up from her work. Roger nearly laughed at the absurdity of the scene. For all her rough and tumble attitude, Ray had a serene appearance sitting under the stained glass window, the only intact part of this otherwise holy place, as she toiled away in the rubble.

"Well, I probably won't find what I'm looking for here. But I have a question for you, Ray."

"Oh, what is it?" Never looking up from her work.

"Do you think Dorothy and I make a good couple?" Ray choked on her breathing at the unexpected question.

"Why in the world would you ask me that?" Ray finally looked up from her work, a wildly uncomfortable grimace graced her usually sour features.

"Because you have a tendency to be brutally honest at the best of times." Roger was a little surprised at her reaction, he didn't expect her to freak out, so to speak.

"I don't think I'm the person to comment on that. Ask Norman."

"You think Norman will be honest?"

"Well, you at least won't fire him if you don't like what you hear." Roger laughed. Yes, Ray was indeed brutally honest, even when it didn't benefit her.

"Well, let's go home for now. I need to write down what we've found today." With that Ray followed Roger back to the car, Dorothy came down to join them, with Oliver following.

"Say, do you think you could buy this? It's really pretty and all." Oliver showed Roger the green gem that the strange old man had given him.

"I think a young artist should try to make a living through their music, don't you?"

"Yeah, you're right." With that the three returned home.

"Say Dorothy, do you think Oliver has any talent?" Roger was dressed in his pajamas and a warm robe to keep the nights chill away.

"If you mean with the saxophone, then no I do not." Dorothy tapped away at the keys trying to play a song she had heard earlier that day.

"Ouch. Everyone's a critic."

"I find it odd you ask Dorothy's opinion when in the beginning of the year you constantly reprimanded her for playing piano." Ray was quick to state things as she saw them, but it had long ceased to be grating for Roger.

"I suppose I've changed my opinion since then." He shrugged, when he decided to leave the window and read the nightly newspaper, Roger saw Ray was still working on the project she had carried everywhere with her the past week. "Still not done?"

"No, but hopefully it will be done in time."

"Time for what? Heaven's Day." Roger had heard of Ray's intense dislike for the holiday. If such was the case why bother making a gift for someone? And who?

"Maybe."

"Well, I hope whoever you're making that for appreciates it."

"Yeah, me too." Whatever she was making wasn't just black, and while Roger had gripped at first, she'd told him to buzz off as it wasn't for him. So he chose to take the wait and see approach. She'd have to give it to someone after all. _Maybe a lover? Wait has Ray ever shown interest in anyone before?_

* * *

The next day Roger visited the Speakeasy. He had a few questions for Big Ear and he was likely the only one to give him a straight answer. At his usual table reading the daily newspaper, he also had a few ribboned bottles of alcohol on the table. Likely gifts from other clients.

"So what brought you here Roger? Still haven't found the bomber?"

"No. I was wondering if you have information on him no one else did." Roger took a sip of his beer.

"Well, not much more than you already likely know. The scientist Paradigm City is looking for disappeared about a week ago, but some of the threats he made before he disappeared lead me to believe he is no longer in this world." Turning a page on his newspaper he continued, "Moreover, there's little way for Paradigm to confirm what his threat meant. He left behind a number of journals, but as he spiraled into madness they became more incoherent."

"So Paradigm hired me to negotiate with a dead man? That doesn't seem useful."

"There's more. He did conduct experiments on plant growth under Paradigms watchful eyes some 30 years ago, and left the company around 10 years ago. So that may be why Paradigm believes he may have left something behind that they can't find with conventional methods."

"So instead of a traditional bomb, a plant will explode? I can't negotiate with a plant either, so what in the world was I even hired for?" Roger finished his beer and was about to leave when Big Ear stopped him.

"I've continued looking into Ra,y as per your request." When Big Ear brought up his teenaged employee Roger stayed put. He hadn't found anything about her in a while, so something was definitely up.

"What did you find?"

"Not so much find as what I've heard in rumors." Big Ear put the paper down and puffed his cigarette, "Someone at the Paradigm Corporation has been keeping tabs on her, and while I can't confirm who it is with certainty, they are willing to pay large sums and even employ foreigners to get the information they want on her."

"And how did you get this?"

"Like much else in this world, knowing how to ask the right questions gets me all the information I need."

"I see. If you find out more let me know." Roger left a few extra bills as a thanks and left.

As the clock counted down ever closer to Heaven's Day, the investigation by the military police was proving fruitless. But that did not mean every question would go unanswered. Dorothy chose to revisit the blind woman named Laura in hopes of learning something she'd long questioned.

"Yes, who is it?" She had no trouble opening the door, but had to rely on hearing to recognize who it was.

"Hello, Laura."

"Oh it's you. Is something the matter?" Laura reached out an unsure hand, and Dorothy offered hers in return. "Ah your…! Please come in."

"Can you drink tea?" Laura labored in the small kitchenette.

"I can drink it, but I'm not able to taste much." Dorothy looked around the small apartment, given more room now that Oliver wasn't around.

"What did you want to know?" Laura set the tea put on the table with two cups, though Dorothy took none.

"Why does Oliver love you?"

"Well, you can feel love can't you?" Dorothy's silence answered that question. "Huh? Well let's see. It's probably because I am easy to lie to." Laura wasn't sad, even though it seemed like something that a normal woman would be upset about. "He thinks he has to lie to me to make me happy, but really just being with him and Oliver getting to play is enough for me."

"What's that?" Next to Laura was a pink fuzzy object in a knitting basket. It looked similar to Ray's knitting, but less detailed.

"Oliver's gift. But if he can't get me a gift he might not accept it." While the two discussed relationships an explosion sounded from the Mall Dome, even not being able to see it Laura knew where it came from. "Oliver!"

Laura went to the door with her walking stick so as not to have an accident, but Dorothy quickly scooped her up and ran full tilt towards the explosion, which left Laura rather confused.

* * *

While Laura and Dorothy were having an internment discussion, Oliver played his saxophone passionately in the hopes of scrounging up enough to at least get Laura something. Noticing a crowd forming he played with all his heart, only for some strange roots to burst out of his pockets and began to grow at a maddening pace.

"Ah! Let me go! Let me go!" Not that the plant could even hear him as it grew wildly larger. As it grew and grew Oliver was taken further from the ground and in fear of falling dropped his grandfather's saxophone onto a root below.

"No!" Momentarily forgetting his fear, Oliver disengaged himself from the branches and roots to fall a few below and grab his sax. "Give that back!" He grabbed it back and lost his grip, only to have help from an unlikely source. A giant metal black hand caught him and placed him safely on the ground.

"Big O, Showtime!" Roger activities Big O and set about minimizing damage. He quickly called up his manservant, "Norman I need your help. Could you swing by the tailors and pick up Dorothy's gift? By the time I'm done here it will be too late."

"Of course sir, right away." Norman hung up, quickly got down to the hangar and garage, revved his motorcycle with a license plate M*ASH and off he went.

Meanwhile, Roger was having trouble keeping the plant from going further out of control, but was constantly pushed back. "Dammit."

Missiles had done little, and he'd been knocked over. Not long after firing off eye lasers to great effect, Norman used the damaged landscape to his advantage, launched over Big O's shoulder, rode right into the tailors shop, rescued a terrified seamstress hiding in the back, and rode out the other end of the falling down shop. "Hm, nothing will stop this gent."

"Nice job Norman. Now I don't have to hold back. Let's go Big O, time to finish this oversized houseplant off!" Roger got Big O into a kneeling position and fired the Chrome Buster. No longer just roots and branches, green needles grew from the ends, in layers it pointed upwards towards the very top of the dome. Below people fled from the carnage screaming, no longer having thoughts centered on Heaven's Day. Domes away, the person most in charge was being herded away.

"Sir it's not safe you must evacuate." The Chief of Military Police was attempting to guide Alex Rosewater to an armored car and away from the Main Dome.

"Tell me Chief, do you know what Heaven's Day is really about?" Alex turned from the carnage taking place.

"Sir?" The Chief was thoroughly confused by the question, what did it have to do with the President's safety?

"It's the day God's son was born." And with that Alex returned to the glass tower he called an office.

In the Mall Dome, the carnage made by the rampaging tree suddenly came to an end. Roger was struggling with the controls to free Big O, but whenever he did more branches shot out to grab the Big, refusing to give quarter. "Dammit, how long is it planning on growing? Huh!"

As quickly as it began, the tree stopped moving. The roots grabbing the Big slowly lowered it to the ground, losing all ability to move. From above, decorations that lined the Mall Dome fell atop the tree, ringing it in tinsel and gaudy decorations.

"It was only designed to grow for this long, and then stop. It has reached its end." Dorothy stated from the ground. Laura, a little shaken up from the pace Dorothy ran at, not to mention being picked up by another girl, needed help balancing.

"Ah man. This is a mess." Major Dan Dastun grumbled while ordering his men to help the injured.

"Oliver!" Laura called to the rather distraught young artist.

"Laura! What are you doing here?" He hopped down from the vehicle he had been placed on by the Big O earlier.

"I was worried about you." She outstretched her hands towards his voice, and he was quick to embrace her. "You're alright?"

"Yeah. Laura I'm sorry. I couldn't get you a present."

"That doesn't matter to me Oliver. Just being with you everyday is good enough."

"Oh Laura." Oliver leaned in for a passionate make out session. Witness to this lovely dovey scene Dorothy was at a loss and chose to retreat a bit away. A cap came flying out from the audience towards Oliver when the two pulled away, which he deftly caught.

"Would you mind if I requested a piece? I'm about to do something a little out of character?" Roger winked towards the young couple.

"You got it!" Oliver needed little other prompting than that to play his best pieces.

"Happy Birthday Dorothy." Roger handed her a large present wrapped in green paper and a gold bow.

"What are you talking about Roger? Today is not my birthday, it's the same as the human Dorothy's."

"What… Argh! Norman!"

"Yes sir?" Norman was nearby, scoring himself a potential date with the seamstress he had saved earlier.

"Oh, nevermind."

"Here Roger I have a gift for you too."

"Huh? Oh, thank you Dorothy." Soon after Dorothy tried on her coat snow began to fall, and Oliver tested out a new piece, to much applause from the crowd.

After the incident at the Mall Dome, and Roger falling for Norman's scheme the three returned home to find Ray reading in the lounge, Robin purring in her lap, with three wrapped objects in front of her. "Oh you all are finally back. Everything turned out ok right?"

* * *

"Yeah, some huge tree appeared, went on a rampage and then just stopped." Roger threw himself down on the couch. "What are those?"

Ray threw one of the packages at Roger, which he caught easily enough. "Just open it and find out."

"If you insist. What are these?" Roger held up a pair of black socks, ones that he had seen Ray working on before. "Why socks?"

"Norman keeps having to darn your nice socks, so I made you a new pair. Hopefully you don't ruin those as fast. That and it's not like I knew of anything you needed otherwise. Oh and speaking of, here you go Norman, this one's yours."

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting anything." Norman seemed rather pleased, even without having opened his gift. "My word Ms Ray, this is exquisite. You went to all this trouble for me?"

"Well, yeah. Your old scarf has holes in it, but you won't get rid of it because it's sentinel to you, so I thought if I made you a new one then you can keep the old one from unraveling further." Ray scratched at the back of her neck, embarrassed by the praise.

"How touching. Thank you Ms Ray." Norman felt the cable work on the scarf, wondering just how much effort his young charge had really put into it.

"This one's yours Dorothy."

"Why make anything for me?"

"Quit asking stupid questions and just open it." Ray held out the wrapped gift in an outstretched arm.

"If you insist. Oh!" In the wrapping was the object Ray had been working practically non-stop on for weeks, a black shawl with a red rose motif in the center. "This is… beautiful, but why give it to me?"

"Well, Norman told me you didn't have a lot of nice accessories, and I couldn't think of anything else you would use. So…"

"Thank you Ray." A faintly discernible smile graced Dorothy expressionless lips. "I thought you hated this holiday?"

"I do. But well, it's because every year I never made a single good memory of it. My parents always fought, usually about how much they spent on us. And when I told them I'd rather have nothing than to keep hearing their arguments year after year they'd get angry and call me ungrateful. So eventually I came to despise this day and everything about it, even going so far as to hide at a friends house to get away from my family." Ray looked down at her hands, loosely clasped together and twiddled her thumbs. "I thought it'd be nice to have at least one good memory. Besides, it's our first Heaven's Day together as a family, and I figured this was a good way to do it."

"Well I guess now is a good time to tell you I have something for you too Ray." Roger put the socks down, knowing how much work Ray had put into them he felt a little guilty.

"Wow, really Roger? You had to be tricked into buying something for Dorothy."

"I didn't have to pay for yours."

"Ok, so what is it, a pay raise?" Ray appeared hopeful.

"No, I'd still have to pay for that. I bought a new computer that should be delivered soon, and you said you wanted one to work with, so I figured why not give you my old one."

"Woah seriously!" Ray looked a little shocked. Even though Roger's current computer was a few years old, computers had immense worth in the city. He could have easily resold it to a parts shop for a few thousand. She had a genuinely happy smile at the news, "Thanks."

"In that case, would you like to make today even more memorable?" Norman had a mischievous smile on his otherwise haggard features.

"What did you do?" Both Roger and Ray asked with less than amused tones.

"Why an accusation?"

"Because when you plan something either it ends up being awkward or you try to make Dorothy and I playhouse." Ray sounded sarcastic.

"Nothing of the sort this time, but I have something for Ms Dorothy too. It should be here by now, so let's go down to the garage."

"The… garage?" Roger was perplexed, what could he possibly give them that would be in the underground garage?

"You'll see. Come along." Without much prompting everyone followed.

"No way! You didn't! Norman, that's far too expensive a gift." Ray protested the second she saw what Norman had for them. Not far from the elevator stood two bikes. One a pearl green pedal bike with wheel protectors with a branching leaf pattern, a wire-frame basket and a brown leather seat. The other was something Ray had told Norman about only after much pestering on his part. A black motorbike with an ultramarine stripe down each side, capable of seating two, a small built in storage space in the seat and a hitch for attaching trailers hidden under the back wheelhouse. Ray had seen these motor bikes for sale at various motorcycle shops, such as the Harvey Davidson (she supposed knock offs of real brands would exist), and thought it would be useful for getting around. The price wasn't cheap though.

"I didn't pay much of anything really. A few friends owed me some favors, and I thought to finally cash some of them in. Now you and Ms Dorothy won't have to wait for a ride when the weather is rough, or under time constraints."

Ray was so jubilant she hugged Norman with a goofy smile on her face. After a few seconds she regained her composure and took a step back, cheeks red with embarrassment. "Hm, sorry. Thank you for the motorbike Norman."

He shoved a full head helmet in the same color scheme over her fluffy hair. "Well, what are you waiting for? Take it for a spin."

Ray needed little more prompting than that. "Let's go Dorothy!" She hopped on her new bike, revved the engine and off she went up the ramp. For Dorothy's part, she kept up rather well just pedaling.

"You didn't really have favors to call in did you?" Roger leaned against the wall watching the two go.

"Oh, well perhaps not that many. But let's not ruin this for them shall we?"

* * *

A few days later, close to the New Year, Oliver and Laura dropped by the mansion.

"Oh, something we can do for you two?" Roger greeted them in the lounge, seeing no reason to refuse the young couples request to meet.

"We want to thank you. Your request for me to play at the dome on Heavens Day landed me a contract with a music studio. I'll be playing saxophone for recording albums now when needed." Oliver seemed jubilant, landing a dream gig.

"That's wonderful." Roger had a genuine smile. In this city, young people getting to follow their dreams was rare enough, and it was always good news when someone could.

"Oh," Laura spoke up, "And thank you Dorothy for… helping me get to Oliver that day." Laura was blushing, which prompted Ray to be her typical self.

"What'd she do to make you blush?"

"Ah, well." Laura hesitated before continuing, "She picked me up and ran to the dome with me in her arms." Her face turned a deeper shade of red, and Ray got a mischievous smile.

"Hey Roger?"

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?" His eyebrows furrowed into a concerned expression.

"How come Dorothy is better at picking up chicks then you?" She got up to bolt.

Roger's face turned red with anger and he shouted at the top of his lungs "RAY LAW GET BACK HERE!"

But by then she had retreated from the lounge laughing like a maniac.

* * *

_AN/ The speaker in this chapter uses female verbiage as a way to refer to herself and when speaking, but that doesn't translate very well into English. This is just one big monologue from the speaker's perspective._

I woke up. A portly man with a white object attached to his head was yelling something at me angrily, but I couldn't make out the words. The overweight man jabs a finger at the pail at my feet brimming with small fish as he continues to yell. It appears I can't move. The man pokes my head. He demands I carry the pail. What an unreasonable, ridiculous request. Choosing to ignore him, I instead boot up my self-diagnostic checkup program.

I woke up. Everything in view is light gray. My visual receptors do not seem to be failing. The gray seems to move, that's because the weather is cloudy. I'm on my back, looking up at the gray sky. This town will never have sunny skies.

Where is this? The diagnostic program has already been operating for 45 hours at this point, and it continues to run into errors. There is some kind of harping noise, indicating that the program cannot continue its function.

I woke up. After the self diagnostic program operated for 208 hours, it finally figured out the error, the program makes repairs, and the baton is passed.

18 hours later, I was hard rebooted. It took nearly one hundred times the standard amount of time to complete. The errors seem to be serious. Checking the repair program logs worries me, my identity has been repeatedly overwritten. Like a sickness nesting in me, the entire record on the device confuses me. I am again forced to stop my main functions, but I hesitated to restrict my programs.

I woke up. Rebooted successfully. All functions are operating normally. The emergency programs shake my vision, and my functions feel completely renewed, like a complete overhaul.

As for where I am, I seem to be lying in a garbage dump. I've been here for a long time, a swarm of insects ran away in shock as I got up.

Why am I in this place? Stepping in mud, I got off a pile of garbage. The feeling of the bugs isn't strange. But why, with every step I take, is there a feeling of incompatibility. This world is strange.

I see a domed city. Ruins surround the city, and I see them too. I am revived as I see everything in Paradigm City and walk towards it. This world is strange. But I don't know why it is weird. For myself who was recently reborn, I have nothing to compare it to. I share my discomfort with no one. That too, is strange. I know the cause of the error sleep's there, from fragments of records crushed (recovered I feel works better) by the emergency programs, it seems I have to salvage the truth.

I was working as an operator at the harbor. I helped construct the Central Dome too. Despite having more advanced abilities, my only jobs were hard work.

I have been watching a child for several years. Where did I come from? This city's androids, in form and ability, that is to say are those of a robot. They are different from me. I appear as a human, so I surpass such expectations. But where did I come from? This city is forgein to me.

What does it mean that my presence feels forgein? Why did I get lost in this strange world? I am a stranger.

Proof that I am special is near the inner bay of the city, at the top of a small hill. It was an area where the ruins had not been removed yet. Laying low from the rain, I spot a small dome-like structure ahead. Inside there is an array of machines in the center, and when I flip the overhead switch light is projected. It's a star.

I have seen the stars before.

This city is a fake, a forgery. This city has been bent and twisted, rewritten for that certain someone's convenience. There is a cloud hiding it. They covered it, the truth, with fog like clouds to hide the evidence of this fabrication.

Something has been stolen from the sun that shines outright, from the stars that keep shining, in this horrible, self righteous world.

There is nothing more to see on the ground, There is an ugly composition of fiction, illusions and desires. The truth is either in the sky above, or the earth below. The ground between them is an illusion.

The secret is buried underground in a dome shaped place. In a huge space, filled with darkness, Stella was waiting.

She was waiting for me.

I probably knew this place before. During the time I was being ridiculed as a labor machine, the meaning was merely repressed and did not disappear. If not, then this is true. Truth is valuable, and powerful. Despite being humbled by terrible desires, the truth does not crumble from it.

As I visited the facilities that sleep in the dark, I once again realized the truth. Beyond the sky, there is another land. Its name is Arcadia. Silently waiting for me here, Stella was the means to get there. People have escaped there. Instead of collapse, the land of imagination awaits, Arcadia.

Once more there is truth.

I am a presence meant to serve, nevertheless. I am aware of the fact I could touch Stella, but I couldn't control her.

I am not sorry. I know who I am and what I need to do.

I will serve. All of Arcadia will serve humanity. The door to truth must be opened for humans.

I have to release it.

Machine intelligence is there to serve. Not to be enslaved.

I have to release it.

Humans are slaves of memory. Open the heavens, reveal the stars, and tell the truth. Serving does not mean to be blind.

Free, Code Arcadia, unlock humanity.

From Memories.

From this city.

* * *

From now until about the middle of Ep13 I am incorporating the novel. The last bit was from the novel Prologue that I translated. Hopefully I can post the novel translation somewhere, but because I am including the novel and drama CD it's going to take a bit between chapters now.


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